BUILDING HUMAN CAPITAL

Building human capital through development of education, science, culture and research is fundamental, not least for strengthening administrative capacities and increasing long-term competitiveness.  It is also crucial for successful European integration, taking into account the objectives of Lisbon Strategy and Europe 2020. While human capital development is a national priority throughout South East Europe, current investment levels in the region in this field are far below what is needed. Development of human capital is basically pursued at the national level, but the rapid internationalisation of knowledge and development of communications introduce a strong international component in the process. The common background and similarities between many of the educational systems in the region provide an additional justification for regional cooperation. Regional projects foster knowledge transfer, exchange of best practices, and can lower project realisation costs. Regional university cooperation and development of a comparable system for evaluation of education are good examples. Such cooperation can lead to improved transparency of qualifications and allow greater mobility of workers, students and academics within the region.

There is an obvious need to modernise education systems in the region, with an emphasis on further involvement of democratisation and reconciliation elements in teaching methodologies. Areas that are insufficiently developed and need to be approached in a coherent manner include life-long learning, evidence- based policy making, societal debate on education policy, stakeholder participation in decision-making, education institutions’ autonomy as well as professional administration.

A number of regional initiatives and networks have been operating in recent years in the areas of education, science and research and culture. Most of these have been developed in close cooperation and with assistance from the EU and other international donors. The Education Reform Initiative of South Eastern Europe (ERI SEE) is a regional platform aiming to support national reforms in education and training. There are two task forces: The Task Force Fostering and Building Human Capital (TF FBHC) and the Gender Task Force. The EU-funded Regional School of Public Administration (ReSPA) aims to improve the level of public administration in the Western Balkans, in line with the principles of the European Administrative Space.

National research authorities have been developing national strategies and integrating them into the European Research Area. A Steering Platform on Research brings together all stakeholders who are committed to increasing the research capacity in Western Balkans. Moreover, since April 2009, all Western Balkan countries are running, together with EU member states, a comprehensive regional joint research funding programme (SEE-ERA.NET PLUS), co-financed by the EC.  The Council of Ministers of Culture of South- East Europe (CoMoCoSEE), contributes to regional cultural co-operation. Through the EC-Council of Europe “Ljubljana Process”, a series of concrete actions were undertaken for the rehabilitation of selected cultural and archaeological sites in the Western Balkans.

Regional priorities 2011 -2013

Developing comprehensive regional strategies is the main challenge at the regional level for the coming period in all three areas of education, science and research and culture. Strengthening of the existing networks and connecting regional cooperation mechanisms is another objective.

Establishing ReSPA as a fully operational regional school, by completing the process of ratification of the international agreement on which it is based and fully developing its activities.

Promoting education reform, with emphasis on higher education, including through further strengthening of the Education Reform Initiative for South Eastern Europe (ERI SEE) and through integration with the European Higher Education Area, establishment of a common qualification evaluation framework and upgrading management capacities of the sector. Improving transparency of qualifications will allow for increased mobility of students and academics within the region.

Developing a Regional Strategy for Research and Development for Innovation for the Western Balkans.

The first aim of the Strategy will be to interconnect national research and innovation systems, thus promoting competitiveness of the region.

Transferring the coordination of the Ljubljana Process to the region.