The Role of Universities in Promoting Lifelong Learning: European Experience and Croatian Perspective

Abstract

The lifelong learning has a crucial importance since a dynamic economic and social development in contemporary highly globalized world is based upon highly educated and trained entrepreneurs, managers and professionals. This is recognized in the Lisbon strategy (2000), the EU's overarching program focusing on growth and jobs. It has underlined that knowledge, and the innovation are the EU's most valuable assets, particularly as global competition becomes more intense in all sectors. The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the discussion on lifelong learning activities and policies in EU and its implications on Croatia as an EU candidate country.lifelong learning, universities, lifelong learning policy, EU, Croatia