Vilnius, 1 October 2026
The Committee members Peter Hefele, Policy Director at the Wilfried Martens Centre for European Studies (WMC), and Ignasi Grau, Co-director of the Steering Committee, together with David Steiner, Executive Director of the Johns Hopkins Institute for Education Policy, took part in an international education policy forum held in Vilnius, Lithuania, jointly organized by the Wilfried Martens Centre for European Studies and the Think Tank Institute for European Right.
The event brought together policymakers, former members of Lithuania’s Ministry of Education, Science and Sport, national experts and international guests to address the main challenges facing education in Lithuania and Europe and to discuss possible responses from a public policy perspective. Participants included former Minister of Education Radvilė Morkūnaitė-Mikulėnienė and former Deputy Minister of Education Ignas Gaižiūnas.
The meeting provided an opportunity for dialogue between Lithuania’s political and administrative experience and international perspectives on education policy, with particular attention to educational freedom and pluralism.
Two Panels Addressing the Challenges of Education Policy
The programme was structured around two panels examining the current challenges facing education systems and discussing possible directions for education policy in Lithuania and Europe.
The first panel brought together members of Lithuania’s education policy community and international experts, who shared different perspectives on the challenges currently facing the education sector.
The second roundtable, moderated by Peter Hefele, Policy Director at the Wilfried Martens Centre for European Studies, featured David Steiner and Ignasi Grau and focused particularly on educational pluralism.
The collaboration between the Johns Hopkins Institute for Education Policy and the Educational Pluralism initiative was also addressed, including efforts to contribute to the development and dissemination of the initiative’s content through its website. This collaboration aims to broaden international discussion of educational pluralism and its relevance to public policy development.
A Forum Aimed at Developing Policy Proposals
One of the central features of the event was its focus on political dialogue and policy development. The discussions held during the forum will serve as a basis for an education policy recommendations document, which the organizers are expected to publish shortly.The aim is to translate the issues addressed during the meeting into concrete policy recommendations, thereby contributing to the debate on the future of education in Lithuania and Europe.
The participation of experts such as Peter Hefele and Ignasi Grau brought perspectives on educational pluralism, freedom of education and the right to education into the discussion. These issues form part of the broader debate on how to ensure that education systems recognise the diversity of educational options and respond to the needs of families and society.