What is GLAS and why is it needed?

What is GLAS?

GLAS (Social class, gender, participation and lifelong learning) is a multinational European project which is comparing, developing and disseminating best practice, as to methods to facilitate the social inclusion and progression of working class individuals and, in particular, mature women.

Why is it needed?

All partners in the consortium recognise the key importance of social inclusion in Europe wide strategies. The issue of social inclusion and social mobility has become an issue of particular concern for several EU countries, as rising evidence suggests that despite a period of ‘apparent’ growth and prosperity in the first decade of the millennium many people from lower socio-economic groups and women in particular were becoming increasingly disadvantaged. The current global economic crisis makes lifelong learning strategies more crucial to jobs, growth and social inclusion in Europe, as demonstrated by the EU Charter on Lifelong Learning’s commitment to developing structured international partnerships.