The Adult Education Council is an expert advisory body of the Government of the Republic of Croatia. It has the following tasks:

• monitoring the state of adult education and proposing measures for its development
• proposing and providing opinions on legislative and implementing regulations
• proposing financing mechanisms for state-funded adult education programmes

The Council consists of Chairman Darko Marinac and twelve Members: Đuro Popijač, MSc, Vesna Štefica, Rozalija Filipović-Baljak, Jozo Ćavar, MSc, Mirko Smoljić, Davor Ljubanović, Damir Matković, Matija Bajić, Prof. Anita Klapan, PhD, Davorka Margetić, Ivan Kovačević, Prof. Miljenko Šimpraga, PhD.

The Chairman and Members were appointed for a four-year-long mandate by the Government of the Republic of Croatia, as proposed by Minister Dragan Primorac, ensuring representation of ministries, adult education institutions, employers and trade unions.

Adult Education Council Holds Founding Session

On January 24, 2008, the Agency for Adult Education hosted the founding session of the Adult Education Council, an advisory body of the Government of the Republic of Croatia. The tasks of the Council include monitoring the state of adult education and proposing measures for its development, providing opinions on legislative and implementing regulations and proposing financing mechanisms for adult education programmes.

At its first session, the Council received four draft by-laws which follow from the Adult Education Act and committed to provide its opinion on them to the Minister of Science, Education and Sports. In addition to that, the Council unanimously decided to provide the Ministry of Science, Education and Sports with its opinion on the 2008 Draft Budget in the field of financing adult education programmes.

The constituting of the Council was the last in a series of steps undertaken with the aim of strategic and institutional building of the adult education system. This process began in 2004, when the Government of the Republic of Croatia adopted a Strategy for Adult Education, and continued with the establishing of the Agency for Adult Education in May 2006 and the passing of the Adult Education Act in February 2007.

The Adult Education Council was founded by a decision of the Government of the Republic of Croatia on August 30, 2007. Darko Marinac, president and CEO of Podravka and chairman of the National Competitiveness Council, was appointed chairman of the Adult Education Council. The members of the Council are: Đuro Popijač, Vesna Štefica, Rozalija Filipović-Baljak, Jozo Ćavar, Mirko Smoljić, Davor Ljubanović, Damir Matković, Matija Bajić, Anita Klapan, Davorka Margetić, Ivan Kovačević and Miljenko Šimpraga.

The composition of the Council was based on the proposal of the Minister of Science, Education and Sports, Dragan Primorac. The candidates for chairman and members were nominated by the heads of central state administration bodies, adult education institutions, professional and business organizations, trade unions and employers’ associations. They were appointed for a four-year-long mandate. The Council includes representatives of ministries and other state administration bodies, adult education institutions, employers, trade unions and andragogy experts, thus ensuring the participation of all key stakeholders in the development of the system of adult education.

The Agency for Adult Education shall perform administrative duties for the Council.