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Staying relevant for the European guidance community

Here, two long term Euroguidance professionals, Nina Ahlroos (Sweden) and Graziana Boscato (France)
share their thoughts on why Euroguidance work matters.

What have been your best or most memorable expe- Nina: We have grown over the years and the contacts
riences in Euroguidance? with the European Commission and/or the EACEA in-
fluences how we can run our actions. Some periods it
Graziana: The friendliness of the members has always seems like countries concentrate more on the national
been present during the meetings in various countries. context, and some periods the network level coopera-
One of my favourite memories of the first European tion is in focus. Our network is exceptional in the sense
meetings were the convivial moments which were al- that we keep up the exchange and cooperation without
ways accompanied by songs in all languages. This also any coordinating support mechanism. Other networks
contributed to the feeling of belonging to a network, to have more central administrative and communicative
the big European guidance family. Another special mo- support, but we have managed to support the guidance
ment was in 2008, when the European resolution “Better community “on our own ‘’ for 30 years. The financial
inclusion of lifelong guidance in lifelong learning strate- support that we receive from the Erasmus+ programme
gies” was adopted. It is still in force and has increased is of course a prerequisite. At national level, I would say
the legitimacy of the network. Working for Euroguidance that during these years, Euroguidance Sweden has
has given me great professional relationships and a gone from a completely unknown activity to a center
working environment favorable to synergies, innova- that most Swedish guidance practitioners know about,
tions and exchanges. and an actor in the national guidance arena.

Nina: I have greatly enjoyed the cooperation with EG What do you see as the most important impacts of
colleagues across Europe. If I must mention something, Euroguidance work?
it would be the dinner on a sailing ship during a network
meeting in Malta and a Nordic-Baltic meeting in Iceland Graziana: At the international level, thanks to its evo-
when we all visited the Blue Lagoon! To work together is lution, I think that the network is now known and it is
extremely rewarding, but the social part of our coopera- an interlocutor for other international bodies working
tion makes the work even more interesting and fun. The in guidance (ICCDPP, CEDEFOP, IAEVG). At national
best recent work memory is the writing of an academic level, guidance is characterised by a multitude of pro-
article together with Euroguidance colleagues for an fessionals and bodies working in this field. The impact of
international publication. the EG network remains modest, but it can be said that
the different ministries and decision-makers recognise
How has the Euroguidance work changed during the network. Its reputation and activities are known to
these years? professionals, although the financial and human re-
sources have remained constant since its creation. We
Graziana: The network has grown with a consequent have succeeded in building up a loyal network of lifelong
number of resource centres at the time of the succes- professionals.
sive enlargements of the EU. It has been structured little
by little, helped by the digital evolution, and now it has Nina: I must begin by highlighting the importance of
a steering group and working groups. In recent years, international exchange and cooperation for peace and
a lot of work has been done to develop communica- democratic development. Through this work we contrib-
tions. Emphasis has also been placed on the quality of ute to the competence development of guidance practi-
services. All these developments have led to a better tioners when they get the opportunity to exchange expe-
functioning organisation, a better visibility of the net- riences and practices between countries. Furthermore,
work and they have contributed to its recognition by the by enhancing their knowledge in mobility guidance, we
stakeholders. contribute to young persons’ career development and
their active participation in the society.

Euroguidance Insight Magazine Issue 2/2022