Page 17 - Euroguidance Insight Magazine

Copenhagen. All presentations there were followed First digital IAEVG international
by discussions and an exchange of experiences. On conference co-hosted by
the last day, two young craftswomen from ‘Boss Euroguidance Latvia in October 2021
Ladies’ gave a talk on how to attract more women
th
to VET. Finally, the organisation ‘Skills Denmark’ The 44 IAEVG International Conference took place
presented themselves and how they promote VET on October 19-21, 2021, online from Riga, Latvia,
programmes to young Danes. bringing together career guidance professionals
from around the world. It was the first ever virtual
The popularity of the topic made for an excellent conference in the 70-year history of the IAEVG, as
visit with participants benefitting from mutual dis- well as the largest international online event organ-
cussions of new initiatives and potential solutions. ised by the host agency of EG Latvia at that time,
All participants contributed presentations to a Hand- and co-organised by the International Association
book to encourage them to continue their contact for Educational and Vocational Guidance (IAEVG).
in future Erasmus+ projects. The final evaluation was
very constructive, with some participants expecting Originally, this conference was planned to be held
to create networks for future Erasmus+ applications. on-site in 2020, but due to the COVID-19 outbreak, it
was postponed. Whilst it was hoped that it would be
A Training and Cooperation Activity (TCA), arranged held in person in 2021, force majeure circumstances
together with the National Erasmus+ Agency, is an intervened and to ensure the safety and peace of
excellent way to promote and finance the mobility mind of participants, the IAEVG board and the Riga
and networking of European guidance counsellors conference organisers eventually agreed to hold the
in this way, and in this way, Euroguidance can also IAEVG International Conference online.
contribute actively to the overall priorities of the
Erasmus+ programme. On April 1, 2021, the decision to organise a fully
virtual event was announced and work began to
Erasmus+ Training and Cooperation develop a quality online conference platform The in-
Activity (TCA) “Career Guidance teractive conference platform provided all essential
features for the successful running of the event, and
Shaping Communities and Societies” all previous registrations and previously submitted
May 2022, Slovakia proposals were honoured.

In May 2022, the Slovak Euroguidance centre The conference lasted for three days with a modified
organised a (TCA entitled “Career Guidance Shaping conference programme, condensed to three and
Communities and Societies” in close cooperation a half hours per day, to allow for maximum live,
with the Slovak National Agency Erasmus+. The global attendance across 19 time zones inhabited
seminar was attended by 40 career guidance by the 286 participants. The first session of each
practitioners and professionals from 14 European day (75 minutes) was reserved for keynotes. After
countries and provided a platform for extensive a 15-minute health break led by a physiotherapist,
networking and peer learning. The purpose of the the second session (90 minutes) was used for work-
shops, paper or poster sessions and IAEVG special
seminar was to explore the social impact of career events. The final half hour each day was devoted to
guidance and its transformative potential towards networking activities.
more sustainable and inclusive societies. Participants
heard insightful key notes by renowned experts, The final programme included 17 workshops, 51
visited two Slovak organisations which are that are papers and 7 posters. Thirteen parallel sessions
making significant contributions in this field, and each day included 6 paper sessions, 5-6 workshops
learned about other inclusive practices in Slovakia. and 1 poster session along with one IAEVG special
Participants also played an active role as they de- event: the General Assembly, Symposium and Panel
veloped several inspiring Erasmus+ project ideas discussion. The live sessions were recorded, and the
during group activities. In addition to the learning recordings were made available for 1 year to attend-
ees. The conference book of abstracts was published
content, the seminar showed that career profes- electronically and made available on the conference
sionals are eager to meet and re-connect with their website. Participants noted that the event provided
European colleagues and engage in mutual learn- exposure to European and international systems,
ing after a long period during which such contacts theories, approaches, methods, tools, policies, and
were not possible. All the seminar outcomes are practices; enhanced professional confidence, and
available online. promoted reflection on their ways of working.

1. NETWORK LEVEL ACTIVITIES 17