Host Organisations

PASCAL International Observatory

The PASCAL International Observatory (PASCAL) is a global alliance of researchers, policy leaders, and practitioners from government, higher education, civil society, and the private sector, working together to advance learning for sustainable and inclusive development.

Founded in the wake of the 2002 OECD Conference on Learning Regions and Cities, PASCAL has, for over two decades, provided an influential international platform for dialogue, innovation, and collaboration. Its Annual International Conferences bring together city-rgion stakeholders, academics, and community partners alike, to share evidence, exchange knowledges, and co-create solutions to today’s most pressing social, economic, and environmental challenges.

Through PASCAL's Learning Cities Networks, and collaboration with our strategic partner organisations (and co-hosts), PASCAL continues to conect regional leadership with global knowledge, supporting cities to embed lifelong learning into place-based development. PASCAL’s work aligns its work closely with the UN Sustainable Development Goals and the UNESCO Global Network of Learning Cities, in an ethos of mutual and symbiotic collaboration in place-based inequalities, our global ambitions are demonstrated in our webinars, research and educational partnerships, briefing paper series and in-person events promoting partnerhsips at city and regional level.

The University of Pécs and its Institute for Human Development and Cultural Studies

The University of Pécs is the oldest institution for Higher Education in Hungary to have been established in 1367 and, basd on its history and tradions, it is today a vibrant international community of teachers and students working in 12 faculties.

When one may explore the factsheet of the University of Pécs, it is reflecting both diversity and unity to work, on the one hand, for human exploration annd reflection upon the world through sciences and scientific research work, education and training, and on the other, University of Pécs has recently engaged in third mission actions so as to promote sustainable community and city through lifelong learning.

This mission is represented mainly through collaboration of several faculties having been co-ordinated by the Institute for Human Development to rsearch and develop learning city focused programmes of the City of Pécs in assocation with its University. A major result of this work was winning the Global Learning City Award from UNESCO and its Institute for Lifelong Learning tor un its Global Network of Learning Cities where Pécs is a member city.

The Institute for Human Develoment and Cultural Studies is the research and development unit of the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences at the University of Pécs. The Institute has been running Lifelong Learning Research Centre to represent the University of Pécs in EAEA (European Association for the Education of Adults), in eucen (European Universities Lifelong Learning Network) and in PASCAL International Observatory by co-ordinating the UNESCO Global Learning City Programme of Pécs together the with the House of Civic Communities.

The Institute has established a valuable partnership  with  UNESCO UIL, DVV International, but it has also been actively engaged in reesaerch and collaboration with university departments and units across Europe through EU-funded projects and comparative studies in Adult Learning and Education on topics like  policy contexts, intergenerational learning, adult learning in museums, professionalisation in adult education, quality tools and mechnisms, history of adult education, learning cities-regions, university lifelong learning, workplace learni, third age learning, guidance and counselling and cultural studies.

The Univeersity of Pécs and its strategy of internationallisation puts a strong emphasis on excellence and quality focuses in research partnerships and project-based activities. Hosting this conference of PASCAL Int. Observatory has got a double meaning. First of all, it signals our commitment and aspiration to support local and regional developments in learnihf cities to help raising participation and performance in learning. Therefore, we in academic communities must provide researches to cover up trends and issues of learning and living in diverse communities and to highlight some particularly relevant messages around that theme. Secondly, we try to demonstrate that universities, according to UN SDG4, has a significant role in the quality development of learning by responding to global and local challenges of social, economic and environmental changes.

Please find more on the University of Pécs here: University of Pécs | International Centre

MELLearN – Hungarian Universities’ Lifelong Learning Network

On October 19, 2002, 12 Hungarian higher education institutions officially established the MELLearN Network (Hungarian University Lifelong Learning Network) as an association, initiated by the leadership of the University of Debrecen and the DE Lifelong Learning Center, within the framework of the THENUCE European Socrates-Erasmus Program. The purpose of establishing MELLearN was precisely to contribute to the modernization of Hungarian higher education institutions in terms of organizational development, particularly to the effectiveness of teaching and learning within university and college settings, and to the dissemination and sharing of methodological and other professional best practices. Currently, we have thirteen member institutions.

MELLearN is committed, in line with the concept of lifelong learning, to contributing to the encouragement of formal, non-formal, and informal learning activities by higher education institutions through their own programs and in training realized through partnership initiatives.

The national and international partnerships of MELLearN are supported by collaboration with the Hungarian Rectors' Conference and the Tempus Public Foundation, as well as its presence in the platform of national associations of the European Universities Lifelong Learning Network (eucen). MELLearN organizes thematised annual national lifelong learning conferences – this June, the twenty-second conference on University LLL will take place at the Ludovika University of Public Service. The Association contributes with numerous publications and e-books to ensuring that higher education research and development are implemented in a need-oriented manner, and that the results reach the member institutions.

Please find more at: English Summary – MellearN Egyesület

Centre for Educators' Association and its House of Civic Communities

NHE has been operating as a CSO of public utility since 1993 on the basis of its agreement with the Municipality of the City of Pécs (Hungary) and running the House of Civil Communities (www.ckh.hu) which has become an important bastion of community building, with nearly 100 registered civil organizations. NHE is the umbrella and professional background/infrastructure provider of these organizations and communities, while the House of Civic Communities incubates and helps them until they grow strong enough to become independent and self-sustaining.

We are committed to mainstreaming the principle of equal opportunities for all citizens in public policies and associated practices, as an integral part of democratization and the creation of an open society. We promote values of solidarity, tolerance, volunteering, active living, inter-cultural dialogue and citizens’ participation. Our aim is to help the social integration of disadvantaged groups as well as the vindication of human rights, and differences, the promotion of the acceptance of social variegation, the fight against discrimination.

During interprofessional collaboration and transfer of knowledge, we organize educational events, training occasions, workshops, and conferences and we operate working teams in social end education issues. Our awareness-raising work is focused on the education of human rights for young people: prejudice, social inequality, antibullying, multiculturalism, relationship, and gender role.

As a result of decades of community development and work, Pécs was the first city in Hungary to be awarded for the UNESCO Learning City Prize in 2017. Our association played a major role in organizing and implementing this award. The city became a member in the UNESCO Global Network of Learning Cities. https://www.uil.unesco.org/en/learning-cities/pecs

We maintain a 25- year-old fruitful working relationship with local stakeholders like the University of Pécs, the municipality, local authorities and institutions, primary and secondary schools, VET institutions, civic organizations, NGOs and grassroots movements. Helping to develop social/educational/green/artistic initiatives etc., and carrying out public services and functions.

Due to the complexity of the project work, our team has a core structure with permanent staff and many external experts that work project-based. Employees: 13, External experts: 15-20, Volunteers, permanent: 50. NHE is a member of international networks (EAEA (European Association for the Education of Adults), EAN (European Anti-Bullying Network) as well as national networks like proHáló and the Network of Volunteer Centres.