The 8th Ministerial meeting of the Western Balkans Platform on Education, Science, Research and Innovation was held on June 3 -4, 2019 in Belgrade. The meeting was opened by Mladen Šarčević, Serbian Education, Science and Technological Development Minister, and Tibor Navračić, the European Commissioner for Education, Culture, Youth and Sports.
Some of the topics discussed at the meeting, were early years education, digitalization in education, secondary vocational schools, recognition of academic qualifications and reform activities in the Region. Montenegrin Education Minister Damir Šehović presented the overall reforms of the education system in Montenegro, stating that it is necessary to further exchange experiences on projects funded by European funds and other external sources of financing, that are of great importance to the Western Balkan countries.
During the event, Minister Šehović also met Cezare Onestini, the Director of the European Training Foundation, with whom he agreed on further strengthening of cooperation in the field of secondary vocational education. The European Training Foundation will also support the drafting and development of a strategy for secondary vocational education. The European Training Foundation is the agency of the European Union which is focused on the development of vocational education, entrepreneurship and digital competences.
The Western Balkans Platform on Education and Science was launched on March 7, 2012, by opening the first Ministerial meeting in Danilovgrad, Montenegro. The goals of the Platform are providing assistance to candidate countries and providing guidelines to potential candidate countries when it comes to their participation in the European framework of cooperation and integration into EU Member States.
At the 8th Ministerial meeting, the Montenegrin delegation was composed of representatives of the Ministry of Education and the National Erasmus+ Office. The participation of the Montenegrin delegation at the Ministerial Meeting Platform is of great importance in terms of commitment to the EU and the international standards in the field of education, as well as assistance when implementing new policies and ongoing reforms.