From 28 to 30 April 2026, the third CoopSkills Partner Meeting took place in Nicosia, Cyprus, followed by the launch event entitled “From Learning Cities to Learning Companies”.
Both the meeting and the conference were hosted by the Nicosia Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
In addition to the working presentations delivered by the project partners during the meeting, the programme also included the international launch event “From Learning Cities to Learning Companies”. The conference aimed to present the CoopSkills project, whose objective is to strengthen local skills ecosystems across Europe.
The event featured presentations on the project’s progress, perspectives inspired by the Learning Cities approach, and a moderated roundtable discussion focused on strengthening cooperation and promoting shared responsibility for reskilling.
The event was opened by Mr Giorgos Giorgakis from Eurosuccess, a partner organisation in the project, and Mr Andreas A. Antoniades, Secretary Director of the Nicosia Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Afterwards, Mrs Athina Lazou, the project coordinator, presented the CoopSkills project and its objectives.
The presentation was followed by a keynote contribution from Katie Jones, Consultant at the UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning, who introduced the UNESCO Learning Cities approach and outlined how cities can foster inclusive lifelong learning environments that support sustainable local development.
The next item on the agenda was the roundtable discussion entitled “From Skills Shortages to Shared Responsibility: Building Local Ecosystems for Reskilling”, moderated by Heracles Sioulis, Training & Development Director at IVEPE-SEV.
The keynote speakers included:
- Alexis Kokkos (Greece), Chairperson of the Hellenic Adult Education Association;
- Anna Prodromou (Cyprus), consultant and trainer specialising in communication, inclusion and adult education;
- Tatjana Babrauskiene (Lithuania), Head of the International Department at LESTU;
- Elena Andreu (Spain), Project Coordinator at the International Department of the Chamber of Commerce of Reus;
- Kassie Burgholder (Canada), representative of Learning Cities at the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology (NAIT), Canada.
The speakers shared valuable insights into the characteristics, challenges and opportunities related to lifelong learning, adult education, reskilling and upskilling from their national perspectives. They also discussed the opportunities and barriers associated with creating environments conducive to adult learning.
The discussion was lively and highly productive, followed by a Q&A session that concluded the event.
