26/11/2021 Standing Committee
Long periods of isolation during the Covid-19 pandemic have shown to what degree education and exposure to culture are vital for individual and collective well-being, PACE Standing Committee underlined. And adherence to democratic values and active citizenship, particularly among young people, are fundamental to address the numerous social, cultural, economic, and environmental challenges of the 21st century.
Adopting a resolution, based on the report prepared by Constantinos Efstathiou (Cyprus, SOC), the parliamentarians recalled that both the European Commission and the European Parliament have taken important political steps to ensure that education and culture sectors are considered among priorities and are eligible for support through the emergency European Recovery and Resilience Facility with a reinforced EU budget for the period 2021-27. However, they said, to benefit from this support, education and culture must be included in national recovery programmes.
The investments in education and in cultural and creative sectors in Europe could also be an integral part of investments in innovation leading towards more sustainable and creative economies, the resolution states. Building synergies, mainstreaming culture and education in other sectors and providing incentives for creative partnerships with private sectors could be key for the future. Moreover, it would be urgent to establish a strong European digital framework that would be well-adapted for on-line education and for various cultural online offers, the parliamentarians concluded.