On Thursday 6th October, the Border Focal Point Network organised the tenth episode of the ‘Beyond Borders: Breakfast Debates’ series. In spite of the fact that European states have generally strong education systems, it is not always evident for citizens of border regions to have reliable access to quality education or the opportunity to benefit from excellent academic and research institutions located nearby. In some regions, the closest nearby education institution may be across a national border, illustrating the need for a common European framework for cross-border education.

Aside from this, citizens pursuing non-formal and informal education, including, among others, vocational education and training could also benefit from the opportunities offered by a cross-border approach.

Jean-Pierre Halkin (DG REGIO) opened the session by stating that during the last years, his main goal as Head of Unit, Unit D2 – Interreg, Cross-Border Cooperation, Internal Borders, has been to identify challenges in border regions and to exploit the opportunities offered by cross-border collaboration. The integration of European border regions has always been an issue of importance, and even more in the current context of rising cross-border challenges such as climate change, energy, and public health.

He stressed the importance of ensuring fair access to education as a central part of border regions' integration processes, in which the funding of specific projects and programmes is one more tool for cross-border cooperation.

The Deputy Director at Euro-Institut Strasbourg-Kehl, Ann Thevenet, gave an introduction to the Interreg Massive Open Online Course, which is still open for enrollment right now!

Laura Mattausch, who is currently enrolled in the Tri-National Master in Border Studies, Université de la Grande Région, shared the advantages and opportunities of cross-border education. The first and most obvious one, is the multicultural and multilingual study experience that is part of the Master, both personally and educationally. But there is more, such as the possibility of experiencing the border on a daily basis. On the other hand, there are also challenges, consisting mainly of administrative obstacles. Current legislation does not always facilitate free movement between borders, as each country has its own administrative rules and it is not always easy to keep up with them, especially if you are not an EU citizen.

Enikő Darabos is theProject Coordinator of Bildungskooperationen in der Grenzregion (BIG) between Austria and Hungary. This initiative is aimed at promoting cross-border education for kindergarten pupils. It is currently taking place in 4 countries and 9000 children are enjoying this way of learning languages by playing. With the several activities developed and promoted by this project, children learn and become multilingual without even noticing it.

Next, we heard from Tine Delva, Deputy Head of Unit, Unit B1 – Higher Education, DG EAC, European Commission, who stated the importance of cooperation and education, key in cross-border regions, as well as inclusion. Europe is working on strategies to ensure a high level of quality-based studies to promote cross-border education. According to her, educational institutions need to work together, to make it easier to break down borders.

The panellists then engaged in a moderated Q&A with the audience, addressing other issues such as vocational training.

If you could not join us for this event or if you would like to watch it again, the recording is available here: