About this learning event

With the Learn4dev2020 Annual Meeting cancelation, the Learn4dev Core Group felt that it would be still possible to bring Learn4dev members together, maintaining the sense of community, even though we don’t have the pleasure of meeting in person this year. Now, more than ever, it is important that sharing of knowledge continues, and members can benefit from each other’s experiences and share best practices.

In the absence of a face-to-face annual meeting, the network remains active and activities are running in line with the current situation. So, how will this work? Two or more Learn4dev members will be co-hosting virtual sessions on a selected topic. These sessions will include brief presentations and  discussions to continue knowledge sharing and mutual learning among the network members.

What will you learn

This virtual session will address one of the issues that have come into sharper focus in the past months–organizational learning. Organizational learning is described as a process of developing, retaining, and transferring knowledge within an organization. 

We will look at how learning changed for individuals and how institutions, whose main mission is to provide access to various types of learning, have dealt with the situation during the pandemic. In this session, three Learn4dev member organizations will join forces to present their experiences and practices. Participants will also be invited to share their views and contributions in break-out rooms.

Following the presentations, the members of the network will be invited to debate:

- challenges institution have faceed during the pandemic and how learners were affected

- strategies to ensure that training continuesd in respose to the needs of learners 

- what worked and what did not , what could have been done differently.

The structure of the session:

1. Introduction to learning systems of organizing institutions.
2. Break-out rooms for group discussions. The peers will try to discuss how the learning was affected and find out the similarities and differences in organizations’ approaches. The discussion will be guided by the questions announced in advance.
3. Plenary session – groups will report back on their discussion outcomes to the plenary.

Faculty

Ana Frangež Kerševan, Senior Partnership Officer, CEF

Ana has over fifteen years of experience in running international projects in SE Europe as well as in design and leading numerous learning sessions. Responsible for methodological design and delivery of training of tutors, conferences, CEF governance, and high-level events and CEF outreach program, she also focusses on supporting localization activities and advising on project management aspects. She is driven by how learning works and what environment inspires learning. She believes in the power of experiential learning and her passion is exploring new ways to powerfully present ideas to different groups of audiences.

Lucia Pešková, Head of Department of Public Education, Financial Administration Academy

Lucia has been working for the FAA for more than 6 years. Currently, she manages customs and taxes education delivery to the general public. She focuses on designing, developing, and providing training to big companies, small enterprises, accountants, self-employees, and all who need to be informed about changes in tax and customs matters. Before she worked at the e-learning department providing education for more than 9500 employees of the FAA of the Slovak Republic which stayed her interest and she is still trying to find new ways to deliver learning opportunities to various groups.

Mioko Saito, Head of the Training and Education Programs Unit, UNESCO-IIEP

Mioko is leading the IIEP Training and Education Programs Unit in charge of designing and organizing capacity development training in educational planning and management. She is an expert in both quantitative and qualitative methods for educational research, in particular in the area of quality of education and gender equality. In addition to conducting research, she provides technical support for several regional networks to conduct large-scale assessments and teaches in different IIEP courses in this area. Mioko is passionate about learning, and training and firmly believes in the transformative power of education to achieve sustainable development goals. 

Jimena Pereyra, Virtual Campus Coordinator, UNESCO-IIEP

Jimena Pereyra is in charge of the Virtual Campus within the IIEP Training and Education Programs Unit. She is responsible for designing and implementing online courses, MOOCs, and e-fora on topics related to educational planning and management (EPM) in different regions of the world. Jimena also intervenes in technical assistance projects aimed at reinforcing the capacities of national training institutions. Before joining IIEP in 2006, she worked for the Buenos Aires Ministry of Education as well as for the National Ministry of Education in Argentina. Jimena's main areas of interests are learning design for capacity development, and the role of ICTS to achieve inclusive quality education and lifelong learning opportunities for all.

Who should attend

The sessions are focused at Learn4dev member organizations and available to all their staff, free of charge, on one of the widely used platforms. It is also available to the staff and audience of the organizing institutions.

About the organizers

The institutions are Learn4dev members or part of their institutional setting:

Center of Excellence in Finance – CEF

CEF is an international organization based in Ljubljana, Slovenia with the mission to support capacity development for finance officials in South East Europe through learning. Working closely with CEF constituency and serving as a knowledge hub for the region, CEF combines topical expertise in the fields of public financial management, tax policy and administration, central banking and data and analysis for designing policies with a good grasp of leadership skills required to manage reforms. All this is done through innovative, participatory, and practical learning solutions.  CEF learning activities are intended to improve the capacities of public officials to facilitate their work performance and build effective, accountable, and inclusive institutions at all levels. In the pursuit of our mission, CEF has built a strong and reliable partner network that shares our commitment to supporting the region’s reform priorities. This creates valuable synergies in the implementation of activities and accelerates progress in the realization of the SDGs. https://www.cef-see.org/

International Institute for Educational Planning – IIEP UNESCO

Established in 1963 as an integral part of UNESCO, IIEP is the only specialized organization within the United Nations system whose mandate is to support educational policy, planning, and management.  IIEP works hand-in-hand with the UNESCO Member States to develop the capacities of education actors to plan and manage their systems through its programs of training, technical assistance, policy research, and knowledge sharing. http://www.iiep.unesco.org/en

The Ministry of Finance of the Slovak Republic 

The ministry is a central body of state administration responsible for the areas of finance, taxes and fees, customs, financial control, internal audit, and government audit. It manages two thirds of the official development assistance (ODA) budget, with the rest spread across several line ministries. The main focus of the MF SR development cooperation agenda is to cover the public financial management needs of partner countries (and international organizations) for transition-related technical assistance. The MF SR also supports the involvement of the Slovak private sector in the global development marketplace. https://www.mfsr.sk/en/. At this event, the Ministry will be represented by the experience of the FAA. Financial Administration Academy is an organizational unit of the Financial Directorate of the Slovak Republic, which is a budgetary institution of the Ministry of Finance of the Slovak Republic. The FAA provides professional education especially for employees of the financial administration. FAA delivers learning activities for more than 9500 employees. It covers capacity building in taxes and customs topics, physical training, and shooting skills training to all armed customs officers. Besides all professional topics, FAA delivers training also in the area of self-development. https://vzdelavanie.financnasprava.sk/.

Partners

This learning initiative was supported by: