Aula Magna

A think tankregrouping

Brusselers of all languages, origins, social orprofessional backgrounds

aiming at reflecting and acting on all subjects relating to

the identity, the future, the challenges of Brussels

as an urban entity, a Belgian Region, a multiple capital and a cosmopolitan and multicultural world

city

The Brussels Lifelong University of Europe

Context

• The populations of Europeans and Brussels people live side by side with little interaction

• There is mutual incomprehension about who we are and what we have to offer to each other

Intuition

• There are in or around Brussels :

• 40.000 civil servants working for the EU

• 60.000 additional Europeans working around the EU

• These are mostly highly educated people

• They represent an enormous reservoir of accumulated knowledge, skills and experience

Goal

• Why not have those people sharing their knowledge, their skills, their passion through teaching ?

Existing models

• There is in France the Conservatoire national des Arts et Métiers

• There is in Germany the Volkshochschulen

• There is in Belgium and in Brussels... nothing, but the Brussels Master Classes (VUB - ULB)

Content

• Classes and lectures to be given on a vast array of subjects :

• Languages, sciences and arts, professional skills, matters derived from EU competences, crafts, hobbies

• Concept mixing ideas like :

• Continuous formation, University for elderly people, Volksuniversität, Université de tous les savoirs

Target audience

• Working people

• Students

• Elderly people

• Unemployed

• Other European civil servants and professionals...

Stakeholders

• On the EU side

• DG Education, Culture, Multilinguism and Youth

• DG Translation

• European Administrative School

• Regional representations, trade associations, federations of nationals

• On the Brussels side

• Brussels Region and Communes

• Universities

• Regional agencies in charge of formation

Next steps

• Positioning note : ongoing

• Coalition of the willing : ongoing

• Proof of concept : to be done

• Search for financing : to be done

Action

• Interested or willing to advise and help ?

• Contact : deneef@skypro.be