The kick-off meeting, which was hosted by SOLIDAR on 15 and 16 of November, brought together 15 participants from seven partners implementing the project including SOLIDAR, consortium leader, the European Association for Adult Education (EAEA), the International Council for Adult Education (ICAE), Arbetarnas bildningsförbund (ABF), Ireland’s National Adult Learning Organisation (AONTAS), the Center for the Advancement of Research & Development in Educational Technology (CARDET), and Ligue de l’Enseignement.

Just4All is an EU-funded initiative promoting Just Transition in Europe. Titled “Building Social Innovation Learning Laboratories in Europe through a Just Transition for All and with All”, Just4All is a two-year project running from October 2023 to September 2025. Region-wide with four target countries – Cyprus, France, Ireland, and Sweden –, Just4All will develop innovative adult learning and education (ALE) courses, and host exchanges to influence just transition policies, and ensure they extend to migrants, women, and low-skilled adults.  

Welcoming participants, Mikael Leyi, SOLIDAR General Secretary, highlighted our core mandate to enable a socially just transition in Europe, a long-term goal Just4All partners share, and that we aim to harness through the project.  

On behalf of the European Commission, Nadja Najjar, EU Desk Officer, presented key EU initiatives and programmes under the European Social Fund to support education, training, reskilling, and upskilling to enable Just Transition in Europe. Other key sessions of the kick-off meeting focused on planning, finances, key work packages, and the project’s management and communication strategies.  

Project members offered a wide range of expertise in the project’s key areas, sustainable platforms for training and peer exchange, as well as a sounding board for new ideas and innovative tools. Together, they bring more than 900 Civil Society Organizations from 75 countries in Europe and worldwide, a network with vast opportunities to raise awareness and stimulate inclusive debates on ways to enable Just Transition in Europe. 

Focusing on these priorities and enjoying high level of local and regional buy-in, Just4All will facilitate the implementation of the 1st principle of the European Pillar of Social Rights (EPSR) on Access to Education, training and life-long learning, and the 20th on Access to Basic Services.