H-1088 Budapest, Vas u. 8-10., HUNGARY      Phone/fax: +36.1.338.21.17      e-mail: iaec.budapest@fppti.hu

This year the Educating Cities Office (Budapest) will organize a group of events during the few days of November 12th-18th, 2008; it will consist of a progressive Central European Meeting, a Conference with 21 participants invited - that is to say, there will be 21 cities represented each by one delegate, a responsible key person of the city - and an Executive Committee Meeting of the International Association of Educating Cities (IAEC) with 2-2 representatives of 13 cities around the globe - and a Seminar, a further training of the IAEC, for the high ranked executives of the Mayor's Office, politicians of the Capital's Council, and heads of civil associations, altogether 30 people will sit there for two days. Additional to all of these, an Exhibition will show up, which will be transformed into a travelling exhibition later, moving around the region, showing up in cities of the IAEC or in which there is an intention to get its membership. The venue of the Conference will be the highly prestigious grammar school, the downtown Eötvös József Gimnázium (1053 Budapest, Reáltanoda u. 7.) - the accomodation will be provided by the neighbouring Hotel Erzsébet (1053 Budapest, Károlyi Mihály u. 11-15.). The preliminary Conference programme: International Association of Educating Cities (IAEC) programme of the 8th Central European Meeting of the IAEC   ***   ***   *** The Moving City - City in Progress Fostering Right to Learn, Citizenship Building, City as Community Making Educating city faces to deal with the issues of fostering right to learn for all in the city, citizenship building, and making the city as a place to live together so as to enhance quality of life of citizens. In this conference, we will have chances to learn together how to resolve these issues, and to share experiences in dealing with these issues. Our discussion will be focused on the following issues. 1. Fostering Rights to Learn Fostering right to learn for all in the city involves reconstructing socio-cultural structure and environments so that all people can have opportunities to participate whatever learning they would like to learn wherever and whenever in the city. Issue of expanding learning opportunities (socio-structural problem) - reconsider school-based learning in terms of who to learn, what and why to learn, when to learn, where to learn, and how to learn Issue of fostering to pursue right to learn (fostering and encouraging people's active participation to learn) Issue of kind of learning to foster in educating city - fostering kinds of learning which contribute to furthering humanization and democratization of the city 2. Fostering Citizenship Building Citizenship building entails fostering people to participate as citizens and to make efforts to draw on the given socio-cultural environments and to work together building more democratic space to live in the city. Issue of learning to act as a citizen vs. to be socialized as a mere consumer of learning Issue of learning for social action vs. individual action - learning to make democratic space together vs. to be enclosed within individual space 3. Fostering City as Community Making City as community making involves fostering people to learn to live together. Quality of life in the city depends on learning to interact respecting each other's interests and values. Persons will have more chances to make better life when we learn to overcome self-centered interests and to pursue common good and social justice together. Issue of learning to make city space for co-living, co-working, and co-existing not just a place to survive and compete to win other citizens Issue of fostering understanding-oriented learning vs. success-oriented learning Issue of fostering cultural intelligence and equality of differences

The Central European Office of the IAEC was set up in 2000 within the Mérei Ferenc Budapest Institute of Education and Career Guidance.
The Institute was established in 1912 in order to provide postgraduate training for teachers in Budapest. It was one of the first postgraduate training centres for educators in Europe, integrated with a school and a kindergarten for in-service training practice.

Maintained by the Capital's Municipal Councile the Budapest Institute of Education today offers a wide range of services to more than 500 nursery, 400 primary and 260 secondary schools and almost 30.000 teachers. It provides them with professional advice, in-service teacher training, school assessment, information and publications regarding education.

For further information about the Central European Office of the IAEC please e-mail to iaec.budapest@fovpi.hu