Promoting Intercultural Dialogue Through Lifelong Learning Policies

Abstract

The dominant phenomenon in the last decades of the past century and the firsts of the 21st Century is that of globalisation. The European Union emphasises more and more the role of education as a real element of reducing the distances between the member states, of leader for the economic, social and cultural development of the community states. At the European Unions’ policies, the universities are called to prepare the students for an independent life in a multi-cultural environment, to support the knowledge improvement, skills and competences which are necessary for an efficient functioning in a pluralist and democratic society, to interact, negotiate and communicate with people from different groups in order to create a civil society functioning on moral principles and common values. The instrument put at the disposal of the national education systems by the European Committee is the initiation of action programmes in this domain. The actions which take place in this programmes are based on collaboration relationships between the member states of the European Union. They are also extended to non-community states or even non-European ones. From this programmes are emphasised those designated to teaching during the whole life (LLP), the most popular being the Socrates-Erasmus Programme. In these 52 superior teaching institutions from Romania, which participate at this programme, the University of Oradea sits constantly, in the last five years, on the 7th place, and this is due to the number of mobilities put at the students’ and teachers’ disposal every academic year. The objectives proposed by the European Committee once starting this programme, were successfully accomplished, because conditions were created for building a real intercultural dialog between the 27 countries of the European Union.

Keywords: Lifelong Learning Policy, Socrates-Erasmus Programme, University of Oradea

JEL Classification: I21, I22