This year our organisation celebrates 25 years of working to improve the quality and effectiveness of inclusive education systems for all learners. As the global context continues to evolve, we remain dedicated to this aim.
Over the past 25 years, our member countries have participated in thematic projects and activities in a wide range of key topics in the field of inclusive education. These have all aimed to explore and promote our vision that ‘all learners of any age are provided with meaningful, high-quality educational opportunities in their local community, alongside their friends and peers’.
Established in 1996 as the ‘European Agency for Development in Special Needs Education’, we began our work as an initiative of the Danish Government. After three years our member countries took over the Agency. By the early 2010s, the concept of ‘special needs education’ had shifted towards ‘inclusive education’. As such, in January 2014, the organisation changed its name to the European Agency for Special Needs and Inclusive Education. The new name reflected this change in thinking, and better represents our current and future role as an active agent of policy change in inclusive education systems.
Throughout our existence, we have maintained and developed collaborative relationships with many European and international organisations. This fruitful co‑operation is essential to our work and to improving inclusive education systems across Europe and beyond. An animation video on the website illustrates our relationship with member countries, organisations, educators and learners in more detail. We celebrate and look forward to continuing these collaborations and partnerships in the future.
We would not be where we are without our passionate country representatives from our 31 member countries, staff, experts, consultants and other stakeholders. A number of events and activities are planned to celebrate these groups and their accomplishments in autumn 2021, following our official anniversary on 1 August 2021.
