ESVDC webinar, October 7, 2021 NEXT GENERATION EU: HOW TO CONTRIBUTE? THE VOICE OF SCHOLARS IN EUROPE Next Generation Eu (NGEU) is an initiative for the relaunch of the EU economy following the problems generated by the Covid-19 experience. The name chosen evokes a plan for the new generations of the EU. On July 21, 2020, EU leaders agreed on a multifaceted package of EUR 1,824.3 billion that combines the EUR 1,074.3 billion of the Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) with an extraordinary recovery effort (Next Generation EU) of EUR 750 billion. Thirty percent of the funds are earmarked for the so-called Green New Deal, in accordance with the Paris Agreement. It will also help transform the EU through its key policies, in particular the European Green Deal, the digital revolution and resilience. The goal of NGEU is to get the continental economy moving again. To receive support under the Recovery and Resilience Facility, EU countries must define a coherent package of projects, reforms, and investments in six areas of focus: Green transition; Digital transformation; Smart, sustainable and inclusive growth; Social and territorial cohesion; Health and resilience; Policies for the next generation, including education and skills. Each country must submit a Recovery and resilience plan. The single national plans will have to respect predefined criteria, concentrating investment projects on some flagship areas: clean and renewable energies, energy efficiency of buildings, sustainable transport, broadband deployment, digitalization of public administrations, development of cloud and sustainable processors, education and training for the so-called digital skills. The Commission will give top priority to the digital and green transition, and there must be a minimum spending cap: each state must direct at least 37% of spending to climate issues and at least 20% to enhancing the digital transition. Career guidance and counselling (CGC) is considered a significant strategic axis within the EU and the Recovery and Resilience plan. As mentioned in various European documents that emphasize the value of innovation, competence, and the role of scientific knowledge in fostering the desired transformations, the CGC axis must also be evidence-based and implemented by professionals who are trained in the most up-to-date skills. It would indeed be sarcastic towards younger generations to make them look to the future by “bridling” them in reasoning associated with the past, which is what inadequate CGC activities do, thus characterizing themselves as a transmission belt of inequalities.
In order to address this crucial issue, the ESVDC webinar aims to share the voice of CGC scholars from across Europe in order to draw attention to the national Recovery and Resilience plans and highlight strengths and weaknesses related to the issues of guidance, as well as to outline trajectories that, inspired by the most accredited scientific models, can help governments create projects to build the future of European citizens able to contribute to the development of inclusive, fair, sustainable, and green societies.
The webinar brings together the views of scholars from various countries in Europe (provisional list, to be completed):
– Cyprus: Nikos Drosos (European University Cyprus).
Voices from Cyprus
– France: Valérie Cohen-Scali (Conservatoire National des Arts et Métiers, CNAM) and Jacques Pouyaud (University of Bordeaux)
Voices from France
– Greece: Michael Cassotakis, Despoina Sidiropoulou-Dimakakou (National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, NKUA), Rany Kalouri (School of Pedagogical and Technological Education, ASPETE), George Tsitsas (Charokopeion University of Athens)
Voices from Greece
– Italy: Elisabetta Camussi, Andrea Cerroni, Loredana Garlati, Luca Vecchio (University Bicocca), Giuseppe Santisi, Andrea Zammitti, Elena Commodari, Valentina Lucia La Rosa (University of Catania), Paola Magnano, Maria Guarnera, Rita Zarbo, Stefania Buccheri (University of Enna Kore), Salvatore Soresi, Laura Nota, Maria Cristina Ginevra, Sara Santilli, Ilaria Di Maggio (University of Padova), Patrizia Patrizi, Ernesto Lodi, Gianluigi Lepri (University of Sassari), Chiara Annovazzi (University of Valle d’Aosta)
Voices from Italy
– Portugal: Hélia Moura (General Directorate of Education), Inês Nascimento, Paula Paixão (University of Coimbra), Ludovina Ramos (University of Beira Interior), Maria Eduarda Duarte, Maria Odília Teixeira (University of Lisbon), Maria do Céu Taveira (University of Minho), Paulo Cardoso (University of Évora), Sérgio Vieira (University of Algarve)
Voices from Portugal (Draft)
– Switzerland: Marc Schreiber (Zurich University of Applied Sciences), Koorosh Massoudi, Jonas Masdonati (University of Lausanne)
Voices from Switzerland
– Belgiumg: Damien Canzittu, Emilie Carosin (University of Mons)
Voices from Belgium