The second in-person meeting of the Advancing Collaboration in Education (ACE) activity took place in Oslo, Norway, at the end of April 2025. ACE uses a collaborative approach to help countries adapt models to successfully implement cross-sector collaboration towards inclusive education to their own contexts.
The Norwegian Ministry of Education and Research hosted the meeting, which was attended by EASNIE country representatives from Iceland, Luxembourg, Poland, United Kingdom (Wales) and Norway. Additional stakeholders from the Ministry of Education, Children and Youth in Luxembourg, the Education and Children’s Services Department in Wales and several Norwegian organisations also attended.
The meeting included discussions and presentations on many aspects of Norway’s education system. Participants discussed inter-agency collaboration related to vulnerable children and young people. They focused on several cross-sectoral initiatives in Norway which aim to improve inclusive education. These included the up-coming White Paper on social equality and mobility, which will aim to reduce economic and social disparities in Norway, and the Seriously Ill Child strategy to ensure that public services are clear and accessible to learners with complex needs and their guardians.
Participants also visited a local school, where they had the opportunity to speak to teachers and school staff about the inclusive strategies used in a diverse school community. They also spoke to learners about their experiences in the school.
The participants will consider the examples of practice showcased during the event to develop a toolkit for cross-sector collaboration, which will be the ACE activity’s main output. The next ACE meeting will be held in Iceland in October.
