The 32nd Annual Joint Meeting of the ENIC and NARIC Networks took place in Tirana, Albania, from 25 to 27 May 2025, bringing together around 150 participants from 43 ENIC and NARIC Centres. The meeting served as a vibrant platform for exchanging knowledge, sharing best practices, and strengthening cooperation across Europe and beyond.
The event was opened by Villano Qiriazi, Head of the Education Department of the Council of Europe, and featured a welcome address by Ogerta Manastirliu, Minister of Education and Sports of Albania. Participants welcomed the opening remarks from Hubert Perr, the Head of Cooperation at the EU Delegation to Albania. The Co-Secretariats from the European Commission, the Council of Europe and UNESCO provided updates on their main activities related to the recognition of qualifications. Lisbon Recognition Convention Bureau, ELCORE, ENIC Bureau and NARIC Advisory Board reported on the progress of their work.
A highlight of the meeting was the keynote speech by Professor Barbara Wasson (University of Bergen, Norway), who addressed “AI and Recognition: Data, Ethics, and AI Literacy”, offering valuable insights into the implications of artificial intelligence for the future of recognition.
The rich and varied programme featured a plenary session and 12 parallel workshops, covering a broad spectrum of topics. This interactive format provided participants with an excellent opportunity to collaborate on shared challenges and innovative solutions in the field of recognition of qualifications.
The Council of Europe was involved in three workshops, namely: “Unveiling the potential of AI in recognition – optimizing benefits, mitigating risks”; Advancing the automatic recognition of academic qualifications across Europe: way forward”, “Spotting the fakes: navigating education fraud in a digital age”.
Another parallel session highlighted the outcomes of the ENIC projects supported by the Council of Europe in 2024, with contributions from the ENIC centres of Armenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Ukraine.
The meeting was a resounding success, reaffirming the value of cooperation and peer learning within the ENIC and NARIC networks.
