08 DEC 2025

Event

Seminar

Skills for democracy: How vocational education and training shapes active citizenship

19th Cedefop Brussels Seminar organised in cooperation with the Danish Presidency of the Council of the EU

This edition focuses on active citizenship and the role that vocational education and training (VET) plays in supporting it. The seminar will present the first findings from Cedefop’s 2025-27 study on citizenship education in initial VET, alongside contributions from a range of European policymakers, education experts, and civil society representatives.

Organiser	Cedefop
In cooperation with	The Danish Presidency of the Council of the EU
Format	Physical
Participant profile	Stakeholders from the Permanent Representations of Member States to the EU, representatives from the European Commission and the European Parliament, European Social partners for education, Brussels-based stakeholders working on active citizenship.
Working language	English

Draft programme - (all times are CET)

Monday, 8 December 2025
9.30-10.00	Participant arrival and registration
10.00-10.15	Opening remarks Marie Juel Bech Nielsen, Deputy Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Children and Education, Denmark Jürgen Siebel, Executive Director, European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training (Cedefop) Chair: Irene Mandl, Head of Department for VET and qualifications, Cedefop
10.15-10.55	Session 1. Promoting inclusive citizenship education and active participation in society Dmitrijs Kuļšs, expert in VET systems and policies, and key competences, Cedefop: Citizenship education in IVET: initial findings from Cedefop study Allan Kortnum, Director of Herningsholm Vocational College, Denmark Moderator: Irene Mandl, Head of Department for VET and qualifications, Cedefop
10.55‑11.10	Coffee break
11.10-11.50	Session 2. Panel discussion Policy perspectives – setting the framework for active citizenship in VET Anna Banczyk, European Commission, Head of Unit Vocational Education and Training, Skills Portability, Cedefop (EMPL.B.3) Marie Juel Bech Nielsen, Deputy Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Children and Education, Denmark Michaela Franke, Research Administrator, Directorate for Citizens, Equality and Culture, European Parliament Q&A Moderator: George Kostakis, Coordinator, Department for VET and qualifications, Cedefop
11.50‐12.50	Session 3. Panel discussion Making it happen – practices that empower active citizens in VET Kristina Aaltonen, DLI – Danish Teacher Trade Unions Sabina Casini, senior adviser, BDA – German Employers, BusinessEurope Carlo Frising, Chambre des salariés Luxembourg, European Trade Union Confederation Allan Kortnum, Director of Herningsholm Vocational College, Denmark Erika Somlyay, Lifelong Learning Platform – European Civil Society for Education Q&A Moderator: George Kostakis, Coordinator, Department for VET and qualifications, Cedefop
12.50-13.00	Closing remarks Irene Mandl, Head of Department for VET and qualifications, Cedefop
13.00-14.00	Reception hosted by the Danish Presidency of the European Union

Speakers

Jürgen Siebel

Executive Director, Cedefop

Jürgen Siebel joined Cedefop from the private sector in September 2019. As Executive Director, he is responsible for managing the Agency’s operations in accordance with the strategic direction of its tripartite Management Board.

With his management team and all staff, Jürgen has led Cedefop to strengthen its position as a go-to ally for the EU institutions, social partners, researchers and practitioners when it comes to analysing the impacts of megatrends on the labour market, on skills, and on training ecosystems – and on how vocational education and training enables a fair digital and green transition.

Jürgen has a background in human-resources management with particular emphasis on learning and education, earned his MSc in economics at the University of Hamburg, and his PhD in business administration from the University of Vienna.

Marie Juel Bech Nielsen

Deputy Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Children and Education, Denmark

Marie holds a Master’s degree in Political Science from Aarhus University (2010) and has 15 years of experience in the Danish central administration and state institutions, including roles at the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Children and Education.

In recent years, she has been responsible for areas related to vocational education and training and adult learning, working at the intersection of policy development, implementation, and strategic governance in collaboration with key stakeholders in the relevant fields.

Anna Banczyk

Head of Unit “Vocational Education and Training, Skills Portability, Cedefop”, Directorate-General for Employment, Social Affairs & Inclusion, European Commission

Anna Banczyk works for the European Commission in the Directorate-General for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion. She is Head of Unit “ Vocational Education and Training, Skills Portability, Cedefop” since January 2025. Previously, Anna was Head of Unit “Learning and Development” in Directorate-General for Human Resources and Security.

Prior to that she held several other positions in the Commission, including as a Deputy Head of Unit for “Future of Work, Youth Employment”. Her professional experience includes also labour law, occupational safety and health, human resource management and organisational development. Anna holds MA degrees in sociology and psychology.

Irene Mandl

Head of Department, Department for VET and Qualifications, Cedefop

Irene Mandl is Head of Department for VET and Qualifications at Cedefop. Before joining Cedefop, she was Head of the research unit ‘Employment’ at the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions, leading the cross-European research on labour market developments and the future of work.

Most recently, she was Head of Unit Information and EURES at the European Labour Authority where she was responsible for the Agency’s activities related to information provision to intra-EU mobile workers as well as for the management of the European Coordination Office of EURES, a network facilitating job and skills matching.

George Kostakis

Department coordinator for VET and Qualifications, Cedefop

George Kostakis is the Department Coordinator for VET and qualifications at Cedefop and leads Cedefop’s work on VET policies and systems which analyses the development and implementation of national VET policies in line with the common EU priorities in VET.

His thematic expertise includes quality assurance in VET and international qualifications.

Dmitrijs Kuļšs

Expert in VET policies and systems - key competences, Cedefop

Dmitrijs Kuļšs is an expert in vocational education and training (VET) policies and systems, and key competences, at Cedefop, where he leads a study on citizenship education in initial VET, conducted together with a dedicated research team.

Before joining Cedefop in 2013, he headed higher education and research policy at Latvia’s Ministry of Education and Science. He holds a Master’s in Finance and a PhD in Education.

Carlo Frising

Deputy Director, Chamber of Employees (CSL), Luxembourg

Carlo Frising is Vice CEO at the Chambre des Salariés Luxembourg, CSL (professional chamber representing the interests of the employees).

He is in charge of the Luxembourg Lifelong Learning Centre, the CVET centre of the CSL.

He was a member of the Advisory Committee on Vocational Training (ACVT) of the European Commission until June 2025 and is a member of the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) Education and Training Committee.

He is Member of Cedefop’s Management Board – Spokesperson to the Executive Board for the Employees' group. Also Carlo Frising is Member of the Luxembourgish Economic and Social Committee and member of the expert training group of the Economic and Social Committee of the Grande Region.

Allan Kortnum

Director of Herningsholm Vocational College, Denmark

Allan Kortnum is the director of Herningsholm Erhvervsskole og Gymnasier (Herningsholm Vocational College) in Herning and Ikast, Denmark.

Allan Kortnum is also the chairperson of the Danish Vocational Schools – Leadership Association, which is the Danish association for vocational schools.

Sabina Casini

Senior Adviser @BDA - German Employers

Sabina Casini is a senior adviser @BDA - Confederation of German Employers’ Associations. She has been working on EU education policies including vocational education and training since 2014.

Her specialisation is in human resources development. She holds a MA in European Governance from Siences Po Grenoble (France) as well as a BA in European Studies from the University of Osnabrück (Germany).

Erika Somlyay

Erika Somlyay is a policy and project coordinator at the Lifelong Learning Platform - European Civil Society for Education. She is in charge of monitoring EU policies on education and training in the areas of global citizenship education, democracy, sustainability and learning mobility as well as implementing Erasmus+ and Horizon projects in these areas.

Event details

Event Date(s)

08/12/2025

Event Type

Seminar

City

Brussels

Country

Belgium

Participation

Invitation only

Cedefop involvement

Co-organiser

Related Theme

Delivering VET and qualifications

Keywords

Basic skill

Citizenship

Key competences

Vocational education and training

Downloads

Cedefop events code of conduct

Privacy statement

Concept Note

Contacts

Contact

George Kostakis

Expert - department coordinator for VET and Qualifications, Cedefop

Send a message to George Kostakis (speaker 2024)

Contact

Dmitrijs Kuļšs

Expert in VET policies and systems - key competences, Cedefop

Send a message to Dmitrijs Kuļšs (speaker 2025)

Contact

Ekaterina Tzolas

Assistant

Send a message to Ekaterina Tzolas

Skills for democracy: How vocational education and training shapes active citizenship

Draft programme - (all times are CET)

Speakers

Event details

Downloads

Contacts

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