The Establishment of EUPA

The EUPA, European Union Programmes Agency was set up in the year 2000 as a Unit within the Ministry of Education, Youth and Employment. On the 4^th of May 2007, the Unit was established as a legal autonomous Agency. The aim of the EUPA has always been to support Maltese individuals and entities in availing themselves of funding under the various educational programmes provided by the European Commission. Yet the aim of the Agency is deeper than simply a financial contribution or sponsorship through which projects may be realised.

The general objective of the programmes is to contribute towards a holistic development of the community as an advanced knowledge society, with sustainable economic development, more and better jobs and greater social cohesion, while ensuring good protection of the environment for future generations. These aspects can be achieved through both Lifelong Learning and Youth in Action Programmes, which give an important contribution to the acquisition of competences, experiences and knowledge. These programmes are a key instrument in providing a varied range of people coming from different age groups and backgrounds, with opportunities for non-formal and informal learning with a European dimension.

The Lifelong Learning Programme is one of the main responsibilities administered by the Agency, an area which is fast growing in popularity. The Lifelong Learning Programme for Community Action in the Field of Lifelong Learning has been established by the Decision 1720/2006/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 November 2006. The general objective of the LLP is to contribute through lifelong learning to the development of the Community as an advanced knowledge society, with sustainable economic development, more and better jobs and greater social cohesion, while ensuring good protection of the environment for future generations. In particular, it aims to foster interchange, co-operation and mobility between education and training systems within the community so that they become a world quality reference.

The Lifelong Learning Programme (LLP) will run for 7 years (2007-2013) with a total budget for this period of 6.970 million euros for the Maltese participation. The LLP consists of Comenius – European Cooperation on School Learning, Erasmus – Higher Education, Grundtvig – Adult Education and Leonardo da Vinci – Vocational Education and Training. The Agency is also responsible for Euroguidance Malta, which is also an integral part of adult education. Euroguidance Malta cooperates with existing vocational guidance services both in employment as well as in educational fields. This assistance serves as a platform, focusing its attention mainly on experts and practitioners as well as the public in general in their career pathways, including companies, organisations, citizens, educational advisors, pedagogical institutions and major stakeholders on LLP guidance and mobility in the European space.

Another responsibility within the Agency is the Youth in Action Programme. A successor to the YOUTH programme, Youth in Action (YiA) is the new EU Programme in the field of youth, which was implemented from the 1^st of January 2007 until the 31^st of December 2013. The Youth in Action Programme makes an important contribution to the acquisition of competences and is therefore a key instrument in providing young people with opportunities for non-formal and informal learning with a European dimension. The YiA Programme is a programme for all young people aged between 13 and 30 and youth leaders, encouraging the involvement of disadvantaged youth.

Complimenting Youth in Action, the Agency hosts also the Euro-med Youth Platform. The Euro-Mediterranean Youth Platform aims at creating a network of all those involved in the youth sector in Europe and the Mediterranean. It strives towards bringing young people from the region together in an environment of tolerance and mutual understanding, facilitating networking between them, assisting in the capacity building of their organisations, increasing their participation, sharing relevant information with one another, and exchanging good practice. The Platform provides various networking facilities such as assistance in finding partners, a Magazine in three languages, a FORUM for discussion, and profiles on the situation of young people in each country. Over 5000 organisations have joined the Platform to date. More information is available on the website www.euromedp.org.

The EUPA, on the guidelines set by the Ministry of Education, and the EU Commission, presents its annual strategy regarding the emphasis to be placed on specific sectors. Some of the areas on which the strategy focuses on are lifelong education and vocational training, information technology, health, intercultural integration, small and medium enterprises and cultural heritage. We are committed to support projects which promote these opportunities, by providing the full support to beneficiaries in the quest to have the successful implementation of their project, maximising the use of the EU funds available.

In particular, the Agency, through all its programmes and funding, provided by the European Commission, aims to foster interchange, integration, co-operation and mobility between individuals and groups within the community so that they become a world quality reference, promoting and celebrating best practices, cultural integration and European citizenship.