The European Area of Human Capital might become a reality through the articulation and coordination of common interests of the European Union and South Eastern Europe.
Romanian investments on human capital development have a national purpose but, equally relevant to the national vision is the positioning at the crossroad of the two sub-areas.
Last year saw the transformation of the Stability Pact for South Eastern Europe into the regionally owned and led Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) within the framework of the South Eastern European Cooperation Process (SEECP). The launch of the RCC and handing over of responsibilities for promoting and supporting regional cooperation is as much a reaction to the developments in the countries of South Eastern Europe during the past years as much as it substantially changes the situation in the region by shifting the lead away from external actors and finally putting the region itself in the driver’s seat.
These developments meet an altering landscape in cooperation in education, science and research in South Eastern Europe, marked by a shift from assistance to cooperation and partnership in support of the reform agenda as well as the identification of education, science and research and the development of human capital under the name "Fostering and Building Human Capital" as a priority area of the RCC. A new Task Force of the RCC on Fostering and Building Human Capital was put in charge of the coordination of activities in this priority area and to promote coherency and coordination between education, higher education and research by creating a platform of dialogue and cooperation of actors involved in these sectors and to create sufficient awareness.
The human capital challenge is key not only to making progress in the field of EU accession and economic competitiveness but also to building equitable and inclusive societies. In this setting, it is time to reflect on the current challenges and future perspectives of education and training, innovation and research development in the region.
