The FOCAL project consortium identified two main areas that need to be improved in their work to improve outreach towards vulnerable groups. One area is advocacy and communication - convincing policy-makers of the key importance of non-formal adult learning in inclusion of adults at risk of exclusion, and raising awareness of existing learning opportunities towards the larger public. Another area concerns pedagogical approaches, especially learner-centred methods that correspond to the needs of vulnerable learners. The overall objective was to improve competences of the staff of the consortium in the two areas, as well as their transversal competences, and ultimately to contribute to increasing participation in non-formal learning in Fédération Wallonie Bruxelles among adults at risk of exclusion.
EAEA and the consortium applied for the project to address a need that they shared: the necessity among adult education staff to improve their work in outreach towards the most vulnerable adults. The three members of the consortium work in non-formal adult education at different levels: EAEA at a European level, representing 118 members across in Europe; Lire et Ecrire at a regional level in Belgium, coordinating a network of literacy centres in Brussels and in Wallonia; Le Monde des Possibles at a local level in Liège, providing language and IT classes to migrants. Regardless of the level where they work, all three organisations focus on vulnerable learners and aim to increase participation in learning, especially among migrants and local population with low literacy skills. Increasing participation in learning among these groups is a challenge in many countries, and there are a number of successful practices that can be explored, as identified by EAEA before the project started. The consortium agreed that a European mobility project would be the best way to address the gaps in their own outreach work and to find inspiring approaches abroad.