In 2019, the EU will welcome a new leadership, face the final chapter of Brexit and set the rules for its new research and education programmes. At the same time, new technologies, larger and more diverse student populations, constraints on academic freedom and new ways to learn and teach will have a strong impact on the longer-term opportunities and challenges at Europe’s universities.
 

With expectations high, and a programme that filled three days from early morning until mid-evening, this conference was truly a journey.  As we shared experiences, as we learned more about how diverse learning city initiatives are around the world, as we deepened our understanding of the issues that define this moment in global history, we resolved to integrate lifelong learning into learning cities – not just to satisfy a constituency that needs to find its place in a crowded policy agenda, but as a means to a greater end, a more equitable, inclusive and sustainable pattern of development.