On 25 April, the Education Department welcomed to the Council of Europe a group of school directors and teachers from Austria. The Austrian educators were familiarized with the Council of Europe work in education – the role of education in the Council of Europe’s broader mandate, including in light of decisions adopted at the Reykjavik Summit in May 2023, the specificity of the Council of Europe work in education, the recently adopted Education Strategy 2030 and others.

The presentation made by two representatives of the Education Department was followed by a discussion, during which the Austrian educators had the possibility to discuss education at the Council of Europe in more detail. The group was especially interested in how the various education resources, tools and materials developed by the Council of Europe, which they found helpful, can reach teachers and school administrators in a more direct way. Another important question touched upon the ways in which the work of the Council of Europe in education can help educators address some of the current challenges faced by schools, such as diversity in schools, including in the context of migration.

As an intergovernmental organization, the Council of Europe works mostly with education ministries and agencies, who then share the developed materials and resources with education stakeholders at the national level. At the same time, while the Council of Europe work is geared more towards education policies and policy instruments, many of these are integrated in member states’ education policies and practice and educators are benefiting from them in their everyday practice. For example, in Austria, the new curriculum introduced in grades 1 to 8 in the current school year has citizenship education as one of its overarching themes, which is based on the Council of Europe Reference Framework of Competences for Democratic Culture.

The Council of Europe commitment to ensuring the relevance of its work to the current and emerging challenges in education was reiterated, with peer violence and diversity in schools being some of the main concerns, which are being addressed both through policy work and cooperation projects in select countries.

The meeting concluded with some informal exchanges and was appreciated as very helpful both by the visitors, who found it very informative, and by the Council of Europe as a great opportunity to exchange with a group of education practitioners on the significance and relevance of the Council of Europe work in education.