„Leonardo - European Corporate Learning Award“
Jacques Delors Receives Award for Vision of European Education
When it comes to finding Europe’s place in the globalised world, education plays a key role. Companies within the union particularly have to face up to that task. In order to promote such an insight, an initiative committee associated with the HRM Expo has brought to life a new award, which honours new ideas and ways of making education more productive. As a “benchmark” for future laureates, Jacques Delors, the person who masterminded Europe’s vision of education, will personally accept the new “Leonardo – European Corporate Learning Award” at Europe’s largest trade fair for human resources management on October 12th. The presenter of the award will be the former foreign minister Hans-Dietrich Genscher.At the beginning of 2010 the European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training (CEDEFOP) predicted that, despite the recession, an additional seven million jobs would be created by 2020 (‘new jobs’ less ‘job cuts elsewhere’). However, the majority of these new jobs require a high level of knowledge and competence, and are primarily intended for senior executives and highly qualified technical employees.
“In order for the necessary qualifications to be available in a knowledge-based economy, particularly the companies themselves have to strike new paths in terms of education and human resources", says Prof. Dr. Winfried Sommer, member of the scientific board of the "Professional Learning Europe" congress, which takes place at the same time as the European HRM Expo 2010 in Cologne. “The failure of the Lisbon process 2000 to 2010, and the debate on new perspectives for growth, innovation and employment in the coming decade in accordance with the ‘Europe 2020’ growth plan, makes it clear that exemplary commitment in practice is needed more than ever", continues Prof. Sommer, who has brought to life an initiative committee for the new award together with Alexander Petsch, Managing Director of spring Messe Management.
“We wish to bestow the European Corporate Learning Award on people who have initiated and put into practice "beacon projects" for European education – in the sense that these are considered benchmarks for other participants throughout Europe”, explains Petsch. These projects could come from the area of "corporate learning", for example knowledge and talent management or e-learning, if they have an effect on other companies and sectors. However, concepts that are of great service to Europe’s intercultural solidarity in the area of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) are also conceivable. But first and foremost, the example they set and the broad impact they have in terms of growth and employment in Europe are of greatest importance.
Laureate Jacques Delors – benchmark for future laureates
“The award is bestowed upon Jacques Delors, the former president of the European Commission, as an acknowledgement for the impulses and outstanding services he has rendered for a European education vision and policy, as well as a mastermind of "lifelong learning" in the name of the European Commission and the UNESCO", explains Sommer.
Understanding education as “the necessary utopia” Delors is still a sober politician who clarifies that education is not a “magic formula opening the door to a world in which all ideals will be attained”. But as Chairman of UNESCO´s International Commission on Education for the Twenty-First Century he argues for a holistic approach based on the balance of four pillars of education that the UNESCO proclaimed: “learning to know, learning to do, learning to live together and learning to be”.
"The crisis has shown us again that education should not be allowed to end with the attainment of good grades or a university degree, but that it should be combined with responsible dealing and socially committed judgement", says Günther M. Szogs, Secretary of the Leonardo Project and founding member of the New Club of Paris. "Jacques Delors pointed out the way with his holistic approach to education." Currently, several renowned European research projects, such as the European Lifelong Learning Index (ELLI), are based on his learning concept.
The Leonardo award, under the patronage of the Federal Minister of Education Annette Schavan, will be handed over to Jacques Delors by the former foreign minister Hans-Dietrich Genscher together with Dr. Ingo Friedrich, President of the European Economic Senate (EES), on October 12th 2010 at 12:30 at the HRM Expo.
In future, the Leonardo Award will be endowed by the EES. At the same time the award should keep its character as an honorary award. The candidates cannot apply themselves, but must be nominated by the initiative committee in agreement with the international advisory board.
About Prof. Dr. Jacques Delors
Jacques Delors, born in Paris in 1925, read law and economics as a young man. From 1945 until 1962 he worked as a civil servant; from 1959 to 1961 he was additionally a member of the planning and investment department in the French economic and social council. Thereafter he was head of the division for social concerns in the general commissariat for economic planning until he became the secretary general of the interministerial committee for vocational education and social development in 1969. From 1973 to 1979 he was a member of the general council of the Banque de France and assumed a chair for corporate management at the University of Paris IX (Dauphine) between 1974 and 1979.
In 1974 he became a member of the new Socialist Party (PS) and later took on the role of politico-economic advisor to François Mitterrand. Within his party he moved up into the party executive committee and was the PS deputy for international economic relations from 1976 to 1979. He was then voted into the European Parliament in which he was head of the committee for currency and economic matters until 1981. Between 1981 and 1984 Delors was head of the Ministry for Economics and Finances in Prime Minister Mauroi’s cabinet.
In 1985 Delors assumed his office as President of the European Commission, which he held until 1995. Between 1992 and 1996 he was in charge of the UNESCO’s international commission "Education for the 21st Century". Between 1995 and 1999 he presided over the administrative council of the “College of Europe” in the Belgian city of Bruges and has been head of the research facility “Notre Europe”, which he founded himself, since 1996. Since May 2000 he is also President of the Council for Employment, Income and Social Cohesion, CERC (Conseil de l'emploi, des revenus et de la cohésion sociale) as appointed by the French government.
Further information:
www.hrm-expo.com