Social Cohesion Through Lifelong Learning At European Level

Social cohesion is one of the aims to be achieved through lifelong learning, together with personal fulfilment, active citizenship, and employability. In the context of rapid change there is a concern that many people would feel marginalized by the digital revolution and globalization. The upgrade of competences, skills and aptitudes becomes a stringent need to maintain employability, to reduce unemployment, or to become competitive on the labour market. This has to be done throughout the entire lifetime of individuals. This article aims to discover how lifelong learning contributes to increase social cohesion. It begins with a theoretical review of the construct of social cohesion, and then it explores the relationship between social cohesion and lifelong learning. In the end, several mini case studies are presented to bring real evidence into the discussion of how social cohesion can be strengthen through learning activities.