International Holocaust Memorial Day (27 January) marks the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp, and honours the millions of victims that suffered at the hands of the Nazi regime. The initial findings of FRA's  (European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights) latest survey on antisemitism underline the need to reflect on the lessons of the Holocaust in order to more effectively combat the racism, antisemitism and political extremism that we are witnessing across the EU today.

The European Commission and UNESCO have called for joint action to reduce the number of young people and adults lacking basic reading and writing skills, both in Europe and world-wide, at a meeting in the European Parliament on 22 January.

“Handicap doesn’t mean inability” is the motto of a new extensive teaching tool aimed at schools on different levels in the Czech Republic. “Teaching for Diversity” is an innovative concept for learning combining electronic applications with printed material. The project was launched in 2009 and finished in 2012 under the support of the Czech Ministry of Education within the operational programme Investment into Education Development.

The Newsletter is the new format of the former InfoLetter. InfoLetter was published by InfoNet Adult Education. After a break of one year InfoNet Adult Education in late 2012 resumed activity, when we were approved by the European Commission for a new three year period as a multilateral Grundtvig Project. Since December 2012 InfoNet correspondents began posting articles on the InfoNet website. A majority of them describes recent trends in adult education in the country of the author. These articles are a result of a special call from the Editorial Board of InfoNet.

Although the financial crisis is still a significant problem in Europe and finances of educational, social and welfare projects are under pressure adult education is still important for the Dutch educational infrastructure. In the last ten years the budget for adult education decreased significantly, but still there are opportunities to organise lifelong learning programs. Current discussion in the Netherlands is if adult education is a public or private matter. What is the future perspective?

Free travel and accommodation in a youth hostel in Oslo for one month while you look for work. That's what's on offer to young unemployed people in the Swedish municipality of Söderhamn. The "Jobbresan"(travel for work) project, in which the local authority is working together with Nordjobb (Nordic exchange programme), has so far led to nine out of ten participants getting a job.

Digital learning seems to positively influence the learning results of all students. This is shown by research results concerning digital learning among regular students and students with learning disabilities of secondary education. Thus the positive influence goes for students with learning disabilities as well.

Interview with Jamila, a young woman from Kabul about learning opportunities in Afghanistan.  

Youth unemployment rates are considerably higher than those for general unemployment in the Nordic countries. A growing number of young people in the Nordic region are at great risk of long-term exclusion from working life and society. Several Nordic mapping studies and analyses have been carried out during the period 2010-2012 and the conclusion is that despite socio-economical and cultural differences the Nordic countries would benefit from a closer cooperation and exchange of experiences when it comes to the future work of preventing unemployment among young people.

The long legislative process of forming a new Lifelong Learning Programme is expected to come to an end this year as the Erasmus for All proposal will be decided upon. The European Parliament is likely to endorse adult educators’ views on the new Lifelong Learning Programme, but the Member States still need to be convinced.