Lifelong Learning as a Concept and the European Union Adventure of Lifelong Learning

Lifelong learning is not an international organisation or the practice of a specific country, but an approach that is of high interest throughout the whole world. Expressed as "learning from the cradle to the grave", lifelong learning has been almost a saviour in the western world and especially in the European Union. The idea for the development of lifelong learning emerged with the realization that the education system that had developed as a consequence of Industrial Revolution, dating back to when schools were first established, was inefficient. Lifelong learning spans across all learning activities in all aspects of life and is not limited to general and vocational formal and non-formal education. The European Union places special emphasis on this concept and has declared 1996 the Year of Lifelong Learning. Since then the EU has expected rapid social and economic adaptation to lifelong learning. The aim of this study is to bring the term 'lifelong learning' to a conceptual level in general and to emphasize the interest shown in this concept by the European Union, where it is used effectively in real life situations.