ΕDUCATION AND CULTURE..

High level group to focus on excellence in teaching New strategy to boost creative growth and jobs Teachers' salaries reduced or frozen in growing number of European countries EU Sport Forum: fight against match-fixing Researchers' Night: cosmic events in 350 cities Androulla VassiliouCommissioner for Education, Culture, Multilingualism and Youth "Everybody remembers a teacher who inspired or motivated them. With the help of the high level group I want to ensure that every student, regardless of where they live or study in Europe, will benefit from excellent teaching. This is a pre-condition for innovation, jobs and growth. Teaching excellence is also a fundamental requirement for identifying and supporting sustainable pathways out of the current crisis."

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In the spotlight  High level group to focus on excellence in teaching  Higher education is crucial for developing the knowledge and skills that Europe needs to compete in the world economy, but Member States are not investing enough to modernise their higher education systems. A new High Level Group on the Modernisation of Higher Education, launched by the European Commission, will address this issue as part of a comprehensive three-year review of the sector across the European Union. The group, chaired by Mary McAleese, former President of Ireland, will focus this year on how best to achieve excellence in teaching and then, next year, it will discuss how to adapt learning in the digital age. The Group will identify best practices and creative solutions, as well as making recommendations to national and European policy makers, universities and colleges. It will report for the first time in 2013 and has a mandate until 2015.

New strategy to boost creative growth and jobs The Commission's new strategy aims to increase the competitiveness and export potential of these sectors, as well as to maximise their spill over benefits for other areas such as ICT and innovation. The Commission is calling for a range of actions to promote the right conditions for the cultural and creative sectors to flourish, involving all actors from the local level up to the regional, national and European levels. These actions focus on skills development, access to finance, promotion of new business models, audience development, access to international markets and improved links to other sectors. Teachers' salaries reduced or frozen in growing number of European countries Sixteen European countries have reduced or frozen teachers' salaries in response to the economic downturn. Teachers in Ireland, Greece, Spain, Portugal and Slovenia are the worst affected by budget restrictions and austerity measures, according to a report published by the European Commission to coincide with World Teachers' Day. Teachers' salaries in Bulgaria, Cyprus, Estonia, France, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, United Kingdom, Croatia and Liechtenstein have fallen slightly or stayed the same. However, theTeachers' and School Heads' Salaries and Allowances in Europe 2011/12 report also shows that in four countries, the Czech Republic, Poland, Slovakia and Iceland, teachers' salaries have increased since mid-2010, while pay in Romania is now almost back to pre-crisis levels. EU Sport Forum: fight against match-fixing Representatives of Europe's sport movement and Sport Ministers pledged to step up their fight against match-fixing when they met at the EU Sport Forum, organised by the European Commission in Nicosia, Cyprus, on 19-20 September. They endorsed a "Declaration on the fight against match-fixing". The Forum, which coincided with an informal meeting of EU Sport Ministers, also discussed issues such as the contribution of sport to the EU economy, future EU funding for grass-roots sport, and the promotion of physical activity and active ageing. Researchers' Night: cosmic events in 350 cities You can wait 75 years for a glimpse of Halley's comet, but did you know you can make one yourself in just a few minutes? All it takes is a mixture of day-old dry ice, water, mud and a few other components - and you have a comet of your very own. How cosmic is that? Learning how to make a comet with space scientists in London, creating a cloud with meteorologists in Bolzano, Italy. and exploring the San Antonio volcano with geologists in the Canary Islands were just a few of the highlights of the 7thResearchers' Night, which took place at a host of venues throughout Europe on the evening of Friday 28 September.   12 October 2012 Culture in Motion and European Capitals of Culture conference 2012   12 October 2012 Valletta to be the European Capital of Culture in Malta in 2018   09 October 2012 European Union Prize for Literature: Winners announced   09 October 2012 MEDIA: Golden Shell Prize for François Ozon's "In the House"   08 October 2012 29 MEDIA films at London Film Festival   03 October 2012 Informal meeting of Education Ministers   27 September 2012 European Language Label awards   26 September 2012 European Day of Languages   25 September 2012 eTwinning Weeks   29 October - 03 November 2012 International Conference on Cultural Heritage, Cyprus   05 November 2012 Marie Curie Actions: Contributing to Europe 2020 objectives, Cyprus   08 - 09 November 2012 European Institute of Innovation and Technology Conference, Cyprus   12 November 2012 Lifelong Learning Programme Infoday, Brussels   13 - 14 November 2012 Jean Monnet Conference, Brussels   16 November 2012 Conference on Media and Film Literacy   19 - 21 November 2012 Learning for Active Ageing Conference, Brussels   22 - 25 November 2012 Europa Cinemas Annual Conference, France   Open calls  Education and Training: Quality approaches in Learning and Training patterns in European small firms - deadline: 07 November 2012  Education and Training, Jean Monnet Programme: Support for European Associations active in the field of European Integration and Education and Training (Key activity 3, call EACEA/30/12) - deadline: 15 November 2012  Youth: Support for bodies active at European level in the field of youth (Action 4.1, call EACEA/26/2012) - deadline: 15 November 2012 Culture: call for cooperation projects between organisations involved in cultural policy analysis (strand 3.2) - extended deadline: 07 November 2012 Culture: Information Pack 2012 - Dedicated e-guidance section for applicants to the Culture programme  MEDIA: call for audiovisual Festivals (call 29/2012) - deadlines: 16 November 2012 and 30 April 2013 MEDIA: support for the transnational distribution of European films (call EACEA/21/12) - deadlines: 30 November 2012, 01 April 2013, 01 July 2013 MEDIA: call for the development of production projects (call EACEA/31/2012) - deadlines: 23 November 2012, 12 April 2013 MEDIA: support for television broadcasting of European works (call EACEA/33/2012) - deadlines: 10 December 2012, 03 June 2013 Selected project  MEDIA: selective support to distribution (results of the call EACEA 30/2011, closing date 30 March 2012)    Teachers' and School Heads' Salaries and Allowances in Europe 2011/12   Evaluation of the ESF support to Lifelong Learning How can we prevent skill obsolescence? From education to working life Study on Mobility Developments in Education and Youth  European Audiences: 2020 and beyond    Adventures in teaching    Studies abroad booming trend in Europe