Lifelong Learning Universities and Social Inclusion Policies

The best practices of lifelong learning universities are part of the debate on the changes of the “European social model”. In this model, all Europe countries share the same forms of welfare state, regardless of the differences in quality and extent of performance. Since two decades there is an open debate about ESM economic sustainability and political connotation. The cuts in public budgets, due to the so-called first “fiscal crisis” of state and the global economic crisis, have led the major European countries to rethink their policies involving citizens in working age (Giddens, 2014). The “Social Investment Package” announced by the European Commission with “Europe 2020”, enhancing the direct involvement of universities in projects for social inclusion, is an opportunity for people of all ages to strengthen and expand their knowledge and skills and thus their chances in the labour market.