ADDRESS BY THE HON. LOUIS GALEA MINISTER OF EDUCATION AT THE OFFICIAL LAUNCH OF THE EUROPEAN UNION SOCRATES PROGRAMME IN MALTA

ADDRESS BY THE HON. LOUIS GALEA MINISTER OF EDUCATION AT THE OFFICIAL LAUNCH OF THE EUROPEAN UNION SOCRATES PROGRAMME IN MALTA

When asked his nationality SOCRATES did not answer 'I am from Athens' but 'I am a citizen of the World'. It is our belief that the real challenge that the new EU education and youth programmes will give is that of transforming the nationality of our educational and working community into citizens of the World. The Maltese Government is committed to this premise and as such, my Ministry upon accession had immediately asked the Commission to re-establish Malta's official place within the Socrates community. Mrs Viviane Reding, Commissioner for Education and Culture has recently declared that "Lifelong access to good quality education and training is something that affects people's lives and futures". This is becoming more important than ever before. We are living in a world where knowledge and skills are the keys to our standards of living and our quality of life. What matters for most people in the educational community is whether European education, training and youth programmes offer them new and expanded learning opportunities, bringing them practical benefits. At the end of the day, they do not just gain the practical knowledge and skills they need in highly competitive European job markets. The European dimension opens minds, too: people learn more about what they share as Europeans, and they learn to accept differences as something positive.

It is hoped that the new generation of programmes will continue on the same, successful path as the old ones, but will do so even more effectively and with an eye to keeping abreast of rapid European social and economic changes. I sincerely believe that Malta has a role to play in the development of the European ideals in Education. Although a small state, this is an international state, which aims to develop and further its educational and training needs with the rest of Europe. It is in this spirit that I also welcome amongst us the Directors and the representatives of the National Agencies who are witnessing this event and will be meeting to discuss further issues in the days to come.

Malta shares the objectives of the Commission, in line with the Socrates programme. Our aim is to contribute to the continuous improvement of the quality of teaching and learning and to foster the kind of cooperation that leads to innovative teaching and learning, wherever these activities take place. The EU's approach does not apply just to schoolchildren, but to people of all ages and circumstances. And so do our intentions and actions. The next educational date on the agenda for Malta will be the discussion in a major assembly of the introduction of the New National Minimum Curriculum which draws inspiration on lifelong and continuous learning, so dear to all European hearts and minds.

And so the next seven years will see opportunities for international exchanges alone more than double, involving two million people or more participants across Europe. Malta feels that EU education programmes are one of the most successful EU's activities in the past 20 years. Yet it is very important to make sure that the programmes are ‘user-friendly' and are run as efficiently as possible. Knowing that only 1% of EU funding has been allocated to them, the huge integrative success of the education programmes may seem surprising. In response to a common question which floats around Europe on whether EU education programmes could contribute to a better sense of European identity, the response from Malta is that we want to help to bring the worlds of teaching and learning closer together, by building links, for example, between schools and training organisations, or between younger and older people in community and social learning contexts. And we want to encourage more innovative partnerships between the different authorities and interest groups involved in education and training, the social partners, the parents and even pupils and young people themselves". The Commissioner has also expressed her satisfaction that "education and culture have now joined forces in a single directorate-general. This should help the EU to move ahead decisively and on a broader front. The arts, sport, the world of multi-media, language learning and the promotion of a citizens' Europe – together with education, training and youth affairs – these are the kinds of things that bring the European Union into people's daily lives." This is the European Union that Malta is looking at for entry. A union which expands its European dimension through the interaction, physical and virtual of its citizenry.

The contribution of education programmes to the goal of European integration is meant to offer people the opportunity to find out about the way things work elsewhere. People are encouraged to think about how they could do things better in their own countries and in their own teaching and learning practices. It is our belief that the most important thing about observation and comparison is that it opens up people's thinking, and this is how innovation begins. It is also important to add that EU involvement in education and training presupposes that those responsible for these policy fields in the participant States are also talking and exchanging their ideas and views on a regular basis. This is the foundation upon which the EU's programmes rest and develop. We are now seeking concrete positive outcomes from all these discussions on a broader front.

The Maltese Government believes that those who take part in the activities supported by the EU programmes "are much more likely to realise how much Europe has to offer them" - in addition to their attachment to their local and regional communities and to their own cultures. We know from innumerable accounts of those who have been to Malta to spread the Socrates message, that those who have spent time studying abroad or have participated in a youth exchange programme learn to see Europe in a different way, as part of their everyday lives. Youngsters from deprived backgrounds are often the most enthusiastic about their experiences. I am proud to say that this is an area which will be thoroughly discussed in the Malta meeting for national agencies. It is important to underline the fact that over the years, this adds up to many hundreds of thousands of young people for whom European integration is not just something for governments and politicians, and Europe isn't just somewhere up in the stratosphere. They have learned that Europe is their home, a real world in which many differences exist, but to which they all belong. We should try to enable as many people as possible, from all walks of life and of all ages, to come through this European gateway of experience.

It is also my belief that Socrates should also reach institutions in Malta, which have so far been neglected, such as Vocational and art schools, which are in the higher education sector but are not standard universities. Without the large-scale resources and wide pool of experience that universities usually have, such institutions have found it more difficult to build up trans-national networks and partnerships. It is our belief that this sector of education should be fully integrated into Europe and our initiatives in this field are meant to highlight this intent.

One understands that within Socrates fine-tuning is still possible and that numerous problems exist with the mutual recognition of diplomas in the EU. The obstacles faced by those institutions and individuals who wish to join in all these activities is that the arrangements for mutual and reciprocal accreditation of study need further development and systematic application. The development of the ECTS (European credit transfer system) and the directives on the recognition of qualifications are meant to overcome these unnecessary obstacles. Malta will be looking closely at the new Europass system, which records what students and trainees have achieved, in a way that is comprehensible for trainers and employers.

It is also my understanding that the new Socrates II-Grundtvig programme will address the challenge of lifelong learning, not just in higher education, but through encouraging innovative and alternative pathways of learning and qualification across the educational board. It is my belief that the University will have to learn to make higher education more accessible to different kinds of people and in a greater variety of ways, and, in doing so, to co-operate more closely with other educational and corporate partners.

We are launching Socrates on the doorstep of the European Year of Languages, which the Commission proposes for 2001. This aims to raise public awareness of the advantages of understanding and speaking other languages, and of the various opportunities for language learning. The main messages will be that learning other languages can and should be enjoyable, and carries great benefits, both personal and economic. A key point will be that linguistic diversity is a European asset and that all languages should be equally valued. This is not the aim of every European to speak all eleven EU languages. We do not expect everyone to become a fluent polyglot, like the Maltese, but a reasonable working knowledge of a couple of foreign languages can go a long way towards facilitating effective communication and intercultural understanding. The aim is 1 + 2, i.e. good mother tongue plus two other languages. And I sincerely believe that in this field Malta can provide an excellent example.

There is no doubt to my mind that people who can use different languages also increasingly benefit from better job and career opportunities – and they are likely to enjoy their working lives more, because of the variety of interests that intercultural contacts bring. The European economy as a whole should benefit. Knowledge of languages also enables citizens to take advantage of free movement within the EU."

Finally, may I add that I sincerely hope that all of us gathered here for this occasion will find it in their hearts to support the Socrates programme, whatever our political views are in and around Europe. This is a programme for all educationalists and as educationalists we cannot but support educational initiatives, especially since without local support all educational initiatives will be short-lived. Giving opportunities to our youngsters is the best educational experience of a life-time. Let us hope that it helps us all become true citizens of the world.