Study Visit to Croatia

The DVV International Georgia Country office organizes annual study visits to expand and develop new competencies, skills, and knowledge in adult education. This year, the visit occurred in the Republic of Croatia, namely in the capital Zagreb and the city of Samobor. The Croatian Agency for Vocational Education and Training and Adult Education (AVETAE) was the hosting organization, which the participants visited on the first day of the study trip. The Republic of Croatia established AVETAE in 2010 to plan, develop, organize, monitor, and improve Croatia's vocational and adult education system. The meetings took place at the Croatian Ministry of Education and Science in the following days. Davorka Schmidt, Head of the Department for Adult Education, and Josipa Cesnovar, Head of the Croatian Qualifications Framework, were the speakers. The presentation included the following:

• An introduction to the basic principles of the Croatian Ministry of Education and Science,
• The role of the Ministry of Education in adult education,
• An overview of the National Qualifications Framework.

The group members visited the University of Algebra, the largest higher education institution in Croatia, which is present in more than 20 cities in Croatia. In addition to higher education programmes, it offers adult seminars and short-term courses. It is worth noting that adult education was the cornerstone of its later extensive activities, which included students, children, and adults. "Craft College" - a craft school, an adult education institution - has the task of continuously developing the range of vocational education and training based on the needs of the labor market, linking vocational education and training with the economy and regional development, and taking on advisory tasks for educational institutions and enterprises in the region. They also learned about the activities of the Croatian Andragogical Society, which Dr. sc presented perfectly and with great enthusiasm. Tihomir Žiljak an adult educator. On the last meeting day, the study visitors visited the Samobor Public Open School. An introductory meeting was held where the participants and the speaker had the opportunity to get to know each other using the "thread transfer" principle and create a network, which is very important for organizations involved in adult education.

During the meetings, considerable time was spent discussing intersections between the Croatian and Georgian non-formal adult education systems, both in terms of similarities and differences, making the study visit even more exciting and informative for the representatives of both the host and the guest countries.

The study visit was attended by the Vocational skills agency of the Ministry of Education and Science, the heads of the Adult Education Network and Adult Education Centres, and representatives of the Georgian office of DVV International.