Over the past 30 years, Europe has made a big step forward in the field of education dissemination, trying to make it accessible to its citizens: the projects SOCRATES, ERASMUS, MINERVA and others were initiated… How are the projects aimed at pursuing the European principles of multiculturalism, equality and tolerance being implemented today? How are they being carried out within the framework of the European migration policy and the crisis caused by the pandemic?

Alberto Lorente Saiz, a specialist in local development and territorial innovation, an expert on educational projects of the Spanish Ministry of Culture and head of the European Projects Department of Crea 360 (Alicante, Spain)answered to our questions.

Infocus.Press: Can you tell us in more detail what projects your team is involved in? What is your main focus?

Alberto Lorente Saiz: My team and I are involved in the implementation of projects on European cooperation. Most of our work is devoted to the ERASMUS + program at the school, university, and youth professional development levels. We have also worked a lot on projects in the field of citizen participation, urban and rural development, as well as in the field of tourism. Our activities are based on the creation of cooperation between Spanish entities and organizations from other European countries with common goals and objects of activities. We have partners in Italy, Germany, Ireland, Bulgaria, Romania, with whom we cooperate in the field of research.

Infocus.Press: What impact did the Covid-19 pandemic have on these projects? Did you have to move your projects to the online space? Or have some projects failed to be implemented over the past year?

Alberto Lorente Saiz: The projects that were already in the process of implementation at the moment of the pandemic outbreak were continued, but we, of course, had to adapt them to the new online realities. It was a dramatic change for us. After all, we used to prepare educational projects by communicating live with their participants, volunteers and researchers. The online space has taken away the charm of live communication and the exchange of ideas and experiences. We manage the European funds allocated for educational projects, so it is important that everything goes perfectly, so that we see live the problems of the territory where the project will be implemented, the point of departure and arrival of our project.

Many projects were never implemented. It is only now, as Europe gradually opens its borders, that we have begun to return to them. We hope that after this summer everything will return to normal.

Infocus.Press: In 2017, Russia joined the ERASMUS + project, which your team is working on. In your opinion, why should Russian students pay attention to this program? What useful experience can they gain by participating in it?

Alberto Lorente Saiz: This program is extremely interesting not only for students, but also for school and university teachers and researchers. This is an educational program in which organizations that send their employees for training and exchange work can also participate. It seems to me that when a student or employee goes to another country with a different culture, a different educational system, such an experience allows them to expand their consciousness and professional skills to an international level, which is very important in today’s global world.

Infocus.Press: Does this program have a career assistance feature? Does it allow you to find a job in European countries?

Alberto Lorente Saiz: Of course. The ERASMUS program, which has been in existence for more than 30 years, has developed a set of criteria and documents to assess the level of competence and training of a student or an employee, which includes numerous certificates of the established sample, as well as a single sample of the EuroPass curriculum vitae. The program guarantees the acquisition of skills that will certainly be needed in the future to work in European countries in the chosen camp. Within ERASMUS, there are programs for finding and completing internships to gain work experience and encouraging young entrepreneurs.

Infocus.Press: You have been traveling around Europe for many years as a visiting professor at European universities and coordinator of educational projects implemented under the auspices of the European Union. Here in Russia, we are talking about the degradation of the educational system, especially in connection with transiting from traditional exams totests with single choice questions. How can you assess the level of European education? How has it changed over the last period? Is the decline in literacy noticeable in European countries?

Alberto Lorente Saiz: A model of higher education systems called the «Bologna Process» has been created for European countries. Its goal is to create a kind of structure that equalizes its participating universities. As a result, education at the participating university is recognized and evaluated at the European level and gives career opportunities to its students not only in the country of study. For example, a student from Italy can freely move to Spain and continue their studies or find a job there, as if they had previously studied in Spain. This is a positive development for human mobility across Europe. As for the entrance exams, there is no general system, so the admission process depends on the rules introduced in each individual country. But I know that the process of equalizing these systems is already being discussed at the European level. Now, although the admission process varies, in the end, thanks to the already introduced systems, we have the same level of higher education in Europe.

In addition, I think that the introduction of technological innovations in the educational process has a positive impact on students. This was especially noticeable during the pandemic. The technologies used in the organization of the educational process can be used further to involve students from other countries or students who are unable to attend university for health reasons. For example, I often give lectures at the University of Alicante. Thanks to technology, we connect a huge number of students of educational institutions from other regions of Spain, as well as from Latin American countries. This is an important point in the dissemination of education.

Infocus.Press: In addition, don’t you find it negative to use online platforms in 100% of the educational process? In Italy, for example, statistics indicate a deterioration in the psychological state of students caused by online learning.

Alberto Lorente Saiz: I can’t say for sure. I think that in Spain there is a similar situation. In front of the computer, attention and concentration decrease. But I am an optimist and I believe that technology expands our horizons, helping to instantly extract the necessary information, inviting professors from all over the world to universities who can share their knowledge with students in an online conference, and attracting students from other countries to classes and discussions. But I should note that many European universities, especially in less developed countries, have not yet adapted to use online platforms. We still have a lot of work to do to ensure that new technologies take root in all parts of Europe.

Infocus.Press: Are you in favor of dividing educational institutions into elite and public ones? Or should education be the same for everyone?

Alberto Lorente Saiz: I think that we should be interested in achieving such a level of education in absolutely all educational institutions, whether they are private or public, at which the graduate receives a diploma that gives them the opportunity to work anywhere. We should not discriminate against people who are unable to pay for their education. They are entitled to the work that their knowledge and skills imply. This is precisely why, if we are talking about creating a single European system, we must ensure that the quality of education everywhere is such that it gives everyone the opportunity to acquire knowledge and skills, and then decent work, without any discrimination. I do not see the slightest sense in the fact that, for example, a graduate of an elite Moscow university will have career advantages over graduates of Siberian universities…

Infocus.Press: Can you tell us how the process of integration of refugees and migrants into the educational process takes place against the background of migration flows? Were the curricula changed in some way to adapt them, for example, in history or literature? Do they have the opportunity to learn their native language?

Alberto Lorente Saiz: First of all, I want to say that today many European countries perceive migrants as a problem of border countries. In fact, this is a pan-European problem, to which a pan-European solution must be found. For example, when a minor migrant enters the territory of the EU, a request for admission to the country of arrival is submitted. But as a rule, after the approval of this application the migrant leaves such border countries as Spain, Italy, Greece, deep into the EU. The southern countries face the problem of accepting migrants, and in countries such as France, the Netherlands, and Germany – of their integration.

In recent years, the EU has tried to focus on the social side of this problem: on finding ways to integrate migrants into local society through study or work, for example. At the same time, many migrants have potential that could be used for the benefit of the countries of arrival. There are many systems of their integration initiated by local or European authorities or the «Red Cross». A lot of funds are allocated for the inclusion of migrants in society. For example, I participated in the implementation of a school program for the social adaptation of young non accompanied migrantsthrough games. Our pilot project of “gamification” was a school in the city of Altea. The migrant children attend the same school as the local children, but do not speak Spanish. With the support of the Red Cross, we organized games together with the teachers of this school, in which all pupils participated. The purpose of these games was to establish contact between local Spanish children and migrant children. The great thing is that children want to play and be friends. For them, the concepts of migration, racism and xenophobia do not exist. These are just the prejudices of adults.The interview conducted by Antonina Marchenko