H.01. Adult Education and Lifelong Learning: Toward a Culture of Inclusion

Rapid demographic transitions and increasing digitalization are redefining the boundaries of democratic citizenship, with significant implications for social and occupational inclusion. Rising longevity, declining birth rates, and increased migration highlight the need for new social equilibria involving educational, welfare, and economic–productive systems, while digital transformation is reshaping cultural and social participation.

Within a broader reflection on education as a strategic lever for democratic, inclusive, and intergenerational citizenship, the panel focuses on three issues: population ageing and the emergence of heterogeneous categories of social actors with diverse needs and expectations; migration as an opportunity for social cohesion and sustainable growth; the digital transition, the deep mediatization of social life, and the new forms of exclusion that accompany these processes.

The panel welcomes theoretical, analytical, empirical, and methodological contributions on:

• Roles, methods, and practices of Lifelong Learning and Adult Education in contemporary contexts, supporting the re-engagement of youth and adults in education, the upskilling and reskilling of mature workers, active ageing, and the digital inclusion of younger seniors (aged 65 to 74), migrants, and individuals in precarious employment.
• Recognition of non-formal and informal learning, and the valorization of individual biographies, as key components of a lifelong learning culture.
• Coordinated actions linking schools, the labour market, and local communities to address the emerging needs of a heterogeneous range of social actors and to foster the development of territorial communities.
• Digital competencies, as well as media and digital practices of older and younger seniors.