22nd ReferNet annual plenary meeting

The event had a central thematic on “20th Years together” aiming to celebrate the anniversary of the 2024 enlargement of the EU with the accession of 10 additional countries. On 1 May 2004, 20 years ago, our European family grew bigger.

The citizens of Cyprus, Czechia, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia became citizens of the EU. Overnight, our Union became a greater political, economic and cultural entity, stretching from Tallinn to Lisbon, from Valletta to Stockholm, from Dublin to Nicosia. Bulgaria, Romania and Croatia’s accession a few years later has made our Union even stronger.

The aim of the meeting was to:

• induct the newcomers, introduce them to the tools available, and provide assistance;
• inform partners of the latest EU policy developments on VET, skills and qualifications;
• take stock of the work carried out in 2024 and the outcomes published and disseminated;
• prepare the 2025 work plan: VET policy reporting, Spotlight, news, visibility actions, etc.;
• foster partnership and knowledge-sharing through interactive (joint) presentations of national developments, debates, etc.;
• hold individual meetings for deeper cooperation among members and between members and Cedefop experts.
• reinstall a physical network dynamic of cooperation and shared reflection by convening in a physical open space, which will encourage creative reflection on how partners would like ReferNet to develop in the 2024-27 period.

Participants also had an opportunity to exchange good dissemination practices in a dedicated space where they coul display their national publications, newsletters, videos, promotional items, etc and benefit from bilateral meetings.