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The story of a lively cooperation
The bifeb) as a founding member of ARGE Bildungshäuser Österreich
Between 1950 and the late 1960s, various adult education organisations gradually merged to form national Austrian associations. This led to an increasing profiling of the individual associations and a clearer definition of the goals and tasks of the respective institutions. The former adult education centre moved from Graschnitz in Lower Austria to St. Wolfgang in 1956 and was already a founding member of the Austrian Association of Adult Education Centres in 1954.
The Federal Act on the Promotion of Adult Education and Public Libraries from Federal Funds (Federal Law Gazette No. 171/1973) placed co-operation between adult education and the public sector on a new footing. This law also laid the foundation for the renaming of the former federal home and the associated establishment of the Federal Institute for Adult Education, which is still an important crystallisation point for the development of professionalism in adult education today and, together with the KEBÖ associations, forms the cooperative system.
The development of the co-operative system of Austrian adult education
Permanent staff subsidies and the gradual improvement of continuous and systematic basic funding were the starting point for the establishment of two working groups for the professionalisation of staff in continuing education, in which the bifeb) and KEBÖ associations cooperatively developed the ‘EB-Profi’ and ‘Bildungsmanagement’ courses.
The existing diversity of further education programmes and the fact that the best qualified adult educators often do not have a profession-specific qualification led to the development and implementation of a recognition and certification system, the Weiterbildungsakademie Österreich, wba, which is now recognised throughout Europe.
The ‘Co-operative System of Austrian Adult Education’ was founded in February 2007 to support the three business areas ‘EB Basics’, ‘Education Management’ and ‘wba’. The members of the co-operative system are the KEBÖ associations and the bifeb).
New basis for co-operation between bifeb) and ARGE Bildungshäuser Österreich
This also redefined the relationship between ARGE Bildungshäuser Österreich and bifeb). As an institution of the Federal Ministry of Education and Women's Affairs, bifeb) is a neutral partner in the co-operative system. However, it has a cooperation agreement with ARGE BHÖ that centres on a joint quality management system.
In 2014, Arge Bildungshäuser took over responsibility for the education management business area in the cooperative system with Gaby Filzmoser as course director. The bifeb) will continue to be an innovative and reliable partner in the future when it comes to quality development and professionalisation in adult education.
Grete Wallmann