Presenters and authors are invited to submit an abstract of their contributions by 11 May, 2007 on the following themes:

1. Policy: what policies - from local to international level - have been adopted for the acquisition and improvement of key competencies and with what results?
2. Economic innovation and employability:  how are educational institutions, private, public and voluntary sector organisations, local authorities and regions tackling the challenge of raising the level of key competencies in order to contribute to individual employability, organisational development and regional and national prosperity?
3. Social and cultural: the role of key competencies in active citizenship
4. Developing key competencies – practice: challenges and successes in the development of key skills in education, the world of work and the community
5. Recognition and validation of key competencies: ensuring authentic and appropriate formal, non-formal and informal recognition and assessment

Policy

• Specific policies on key competencies and guidelines for implementation at international, national, regional, sectoral level and local level
• Role of key competencies in social inclusion and lifelong and lifewide learning systems policies
• Role of key competencies in economic development policies
• Quality assurance for key competencies initiatives

Economic innovation and employability    

• Matching competencies demand with provision – visibility of competencies in a territory
• Competency and talent management– identification, development, anticipation of change and emerging competencies
• Public/private partnerships at local, regional and inter-regional levels
• Raising the level of key competencies in SMEs (small and medium enterprises)
• Personal and continuing professional development, personal assets management and career planning.
• Targeting key groups for social and economic inclusion: migrants, older workers, unemployed, people with disabilities.

Social and cultural

• Role of key competencies in community learning: collaboration and informal learning by community groups
• Preservation of cultural identity and heritage
• Encouragement of active citizenship
• Accessibility and gender issues related to lifelong competence development – equality of opportunity for under-represented or marginalised groups

Developing Key Competencies - Practice

• Providing the right competencies for the job market
• Providing support for formal, non-formal and informal development - encouraging autonomous, self-directed and self-managed development
• Applying new methodologies and practices related to learning, competence development and knowledge management
• Learners’ rights and responsibilities in developing key competencies
• The role of technology in developing key competencies
• The role of on the job learning and work experience in education
• Scalability of initiatives
• Professional competencies – what competencies are required by learning professionals?

Recognition and validation of key skills

• Competency frameworks
• Qualifications and qualification frameworks
• Innovative practice in assessment
• Role of technology in assessment
• Ensuring equality of access to assessment
• Learners’ rights and responsibilities in assessment
• Competencies and recognition for learning support professionals

Deadline, notification and registration

• 11 May, 2007: deadline for receipt of abstracts. Authors and presenters will be notified by e-mail by 25 May, 2007.
  
• 21 June, 2007: deadline for receipt of presentations and corrected abstracts, which will be available to conference participants
  
• 31 July, 2007: deadline for receipt of papers (including case-studies and work-in-progress). These will be made available to conference participants and the EIfEL network.