Tim za socijalno uključivanje i smanjenje siromaštva

The first joint meeting between Serbia’s representatives in the Open Method of Coordination in Education and Training and the members of the national working groups was held on Wednesday, 1 April 2015, in Belgrade. The goal of the meeting was presenting the Open Method of Coordination in Education at the European Union level and establishing the national working groups. The main task of the national working groups is to provide support to Serbia’s representatives in their participation in OMC, as well as to best utilize the availability of this mechanism to improve the education system in Serbia.

The meeting was opened by Srđan Verbić, the Minister of Education, Science and Technological Development of the Republic of Serbia, ambassador Michael Davenport, head of the European Union Delegation to the Republic of Serbia and Žarko Šunderić, manager of the Social Inclusion and Poverty Reduction Unit of the Government of the Republic of Serbia.

During the first part of the meeting, Mirjana Bojanić, special advisor to the Minister of Education, Science and Technological Development, and Jelena Marković, coordinator for education and human capital development of the Social Inclusion and Poverty Reduction Unit of the Government of the Republic of Serbia, presented the functioning of the Open Method of Coordination and indicated the significance of forming national groups to work on key issues in the field of education and training.

The second part of the meeting was dedicated to work in individual groups, where Serbia’s representatives in OMC introduced the members of the national working groups to the activities of their OMC groups and presented the way they can contribute both to their work in OMC, as well as to the transfer of knowledge and good practice examples into the national education system.

The Open Method of Coordination represents an EU mechanism in the field of “soft” legislation. Issues defined as priorities at the EU level are of key importance for further reform processes in the Republic of Serbia in the field of education and in accordance with the goals of the Education Development Strategy.

The Social Inclusion and Poverty Reduction Unit and the Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development initiated the programme “Participation of Serbia in the Open Method of Coordination (OMC)”. In April 2014, at the invitation of the European Commission, Serbia nominated its representatives for participation in the work of all thematic working groups: adult education, modernization of higher education, school development (focused on: teacher education and dropout), secondary vocational education and training, development of cross-cutting competences with a focus on: information technologies and entrepreneurial learning, digital and online learning.

Information on the Open Method of Coordination, both at the EU level, as well as in the Republic of Serbia, is available at www.omk-obrazovanje.gov.rs.