Dutch Lifelong learning: A Policy Perspective bringing together parallel Worlds

Lifelong learning has never been an integral part of the Dutch educational culture. Nevertheless, nowadays yearly many adults (about 17.8% in 2015) are after either or not finishing initial education in some respect emergently participating in (continuing) second, third or more learning paths through their lives. As we know these individual paths may become successful only when they initiate from own will learning motives of the individuals in their particular life situations. In this whitepaper we make out a case for policy that bridges the separated worlds of policy makers, researchers, professionals (including volunteers) and last but not least the learning adults themselves who engage in lifelong learning activities for life, work or leisure. This policy focusses first on the continuing unresolved issues of LLL in the Netherland and secondly builds on a Dutch learning climate and a fitting adult learning professionality to bridge the gaps between the parallel worlds of policy makers, researchers, professionals and learners. The paper ends with some suggestions what kind of policy is needed in this respect. One suggestion goes in the direction of “realizing lifelong learning depends on the knowledge and attitude of various interested parties and asks for a collective learning process”. This suggestions was already done in 2000 immediately after the European year of LLL by Van der Kamp. Did these collective learning processes take place?