The Education Reform Initiative of South Eastern Europe (ERI SEE) is a regional platform for cooperation in the field of education and training. It supports national reforms in education and training through regional capacity building, transfer of know-how and linking these efforts to European frameworks for education development (the EU Work Programme ‘Education and Training 2010’, the Bologna and the Copenhagen Processes). Promoting cooperation between the education and research sectors in South Eastern Europe (SEE) is a priority as well. ERI SEE also addresses more global developments in education and training (the World Declaration on Education for All and the Dakar Framework for Action, as well as the education objectives of the Millennium Development Goals).

ERI SEE is based on a Memorandum of Understanding signed by the Ministers of Education, Science and Research of the South Eastern Europe. Its institutional structure consists of a Governing Board, a Consultative Body and a Secretariat (Agency). Currently, members of the ERI SEE Governing Board are the signatory Ministries of Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Kosovo (under UNSCR 1244), Republic of Macedonia, Moldova, Montenegro, Serbia and Romania, as well as of Austria as Co-Chair of the Task Force Fostering and Building Human Capital (TFBHC) of the Regional Cooperation Council (RCC).

Institutional partners like the Council of Europe (CoE), European Training Foundation (ETF), European University Association (EUA), Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), as well as donor countries: Austria, The Netherlands, Norway and Switzerland are represented in the ERI SEE Consultative Body.

Initiated by the Task Force Education and Youth (TFEY) of the Stability Pact, ERI SEE was established in 2004. In line with the evolution of the Stability Pact into the RCC as a regionally owned, streamlined and effective regional co-operation framework of SEE, the establishment of the Task Force ‘Fostering and Building Human Capital’ (TFBHC) of the RCC was endorsed in 2007. The TFBHC is successor of the TFEY.    

ERI SEE objectives are:

• to continue the support of national education reform efforts in South Eastern Europe in the perspective of the process of EU integration and the more global developments in education and training;
• to actively promote regional cooperation at system, expert and civil society level through capacity building and know-how transfer;
• to facilitate information exchange and cooperation between the education and the research sector in South Eastern Europe;
• to support national activities of its members re­lated to the priorities of the ‘Detailed Work Prog­ram­me on the Follow-up of the Objectives of Edu­cation and Training Systems in Europe’ (Edu­ca­tion & Training 2010) and follow-ups, the Co­pen­hagen Declaration and follow-up com­muniqués (Co­­penhagen process) and the Bologna Dec­la­ra­tion and the follow-up communiqués (Bologna pro­cess).

Thematic Areas:The work of ERI SEE currently focuses on thematic areas of relevance for the increased role of education and training in the development of the SEE countries, the objectives of the Work Programme ‘Education and Training 2010’ and the education objectives of the Millenium Development Goals, such as:

• Lifelong learning;
• European Qualification Framework and national qualification frameworks in SEE;
• Quality education and Equity in Education;
• The ‘knowledge triangle’ - education, research and innovation.