It became clear that it was impossible to obtain the necessary knowledge in the official system of education, and the out-dated concept of вЂњan education for a lifetimeвЂќ was replaced with вЂњlifelong learningвЂќ. During an international conference in Williamsburg, USA, in 1967, the issue of crisis in world education as a result of out-dated curricula and the poor capacity of formal education to adapt to global changes was put forward. The concept of вЂњnon-formal educationвЂќ came into circulation in the late 1960s. Interestingly, in other European countries, where non-formal education is sometimes over a century old, attention to it continues to grow.

Non-formal projects in Ukraine today are not simply filling the existing vacuum, but also trying to launch certain renewal processes in education. This is entirely logical, since reforming middle and high school is a huge project and non-formal education is, after all, more flexible and adapts to updates more easily вЂ“ and often spearheads them. Non-formal educational programmes in Ukraine began to emerge on a compensatory basis, filling gaps in formal education. Just 5-7 years ago, only enthusiasts were working in this field вЂ“ at the time, instead of a developed infrastructure of national non-formal education, it was nothing more than a twinkle in the eyes and thirst for real change. Non-formal education in Ukraine is on the rise now, if not to say experiencing a вЂњboomвЂќ. How the system of non-formal cultural education works in three European countries: the UK, France and Estonia, how it can interact with formal education and how these effects operate in the long run?

Non formal education advantages