Newsflash Austria – changes in the making

Apart from the scandal about the data that have leaked onto a Romanian server concerning the test results of thousands of Austrian students the following issues are heavily discussed by Austrian secondary school
parents:

Fapel University Day - Newsflash from Catalonia, Spain

Fapel University Day, organised for the forst time this year, is a meeting point for schools, parents and universities, and was attended by over 1300 students and thirty national and international universities.

This first meeting took place on 7th February on the grounds of the “Loreto - Abat Oliva School” in Barcelona, member of Fapel. Parents, schools and universities were the center of the activity. More than 1300 students  (aged 16-17) from schools renowned for their performance and results attended the meeting with well-known national and international universities. This event was aimn at providing teachers, students and parents with personalized information on studies and degrees as well as trying to make students and parents committed to lifelong learning.

The event was organized around two areas simultaneously. In one of the buildings with three conference rooms universities explained their projects. Each one had a few minutes to make a brief presentation of their presmises, study programs and scholarships. Moreover, there was another space provided to accommodate a College Fair, where universities had stands to be personally visited by students, parents and representatives of the schools involved to make space for further explaination of their programs and studies as well as for clarification of any questions or doubts.

Fapel is already preparing the next event, probably in the autumn of 2014, working togehter with Educaweb, a prestigious organization in Spain Fapel has a collaboration agreement with to support teachers in guiding and advising parents.

Fapel - Federation of Parents Associations of Catalonia,  EPA member since 1985, representing more than 140,000 parents in private schools with public funding, which aims to defend the right of parents to choose the education they wish their children to receive.

José Manuel Prats
member of the Board

Invitation and grant opportunities: Creativity & Thinking Skills in Learning, Teaching & Management – EPA co-organised conference in Riga, 19/20 September

All EPA members are invited to  join us for the International Conference on Creativity & Thinking Skills in Learning, Teaching & Management to be held on 19/20 September 2014, in Riga, Latvia co-organised by TA Teachers and EPA.

Newsflash from Norway

Next round of newsflashes from our Board Members starts with information from the North, our Norwegian Treasurer, Christian Hellevang about major issues for parents in his country.

Alliance 2014 - the unofficial Year for Reconciling Work and Family Life

2014 is an exceptional year as the European Commission decided not to designate a European Year despite the campaign and lobbying of civil society organisations and the decision of the European Parliament. However, COFACE and other NGO's, including EPA have decided that the issue of reconciling family life and work is such a burning issue that we are carrying out an unofficial European Year. Still we hope to have a major input on decision makers and we also hope that EU institutions are joining us to carry out this year's programmes.

European Day of Parents and School celebrated in Italy

The European Day was celebrated on 1 February this year. The initiative, originating from the European Parents Association (EPA), is supported by the Italian National Forum of the most representative Parents Associations (FoNAGS ), the Italian Ministry of Education and Regional Education Office of Lombardy. EPA member A.Ge Parents Association as a member of FoNAGS was part of the celebrations.

"Let's create a better internet together" - Safer Internet Day 2014

The 11th Safer Internet Day is celebrated worldwide on Tuesday 11 February 2014. The theme for the day is: "Let's create a better internet together". On his day all stakeholders – children and young people, parents and carers, teachers and educators, industry and politicians – are asked to join Insafe in marking the day and working together to build a better internet for all, but particularly children and young people.

Invitation to the Lisbon GA and Conference Challenges for Parents intheDigital Age - 4/5 April 2014

I N V I T A T I O N

to the General Assembly and International Conference

Challenges for Parents

in the Digital Age

April 4^th and 5^th, 2014
in Lisbon/PORTUGAL

hosted by

European Parents Celebrate International Book Giving Day

The International Book Giving Day is a day dedicated to getting new, used and borrowed books in the hands of as many children as possible. The European Parents' Association is celebrating the day by asking all parents in Europe and in other parts of the world to join. We have created a bookshelf on Goodreads where you can put the book or books you are giving away or recommend others to give to a child.