Lifelong Learning in the Context of the European Area of Lifelong LearningLa formación permanente en el contexto del Espacio Europeo de la Formación Permanente

The importance of lifelong learning is beyond question in any working context and especially so under the circumstances of today’s global recession. Consequently, in the current European Higher Education Area (EHEA), continuing education tendencies and plans acquire a global dimension that overcomes — or should overcome — reductionist approaches. The construction and development of the European Area of Lifelong Learning (EALL) (Commission of the European Communities, 2001a), should be understood as a process that is embedded in a much broader framework. It is a networked action in which the involvement of many active professional stakeholders is required, and in which convergence, recognition and cohesion are the principal qualitative components.