Building Greener and Smarter Communities Through Lifelong Learning: Discover the LEAP II Project

A European initiative supporting local authorities, citizens, and educational ecosystems in developing green skills and sustainable Learning Cities

As Europe continues to face urgent environmental, social, and educational challenges, the need for stronger local learning ecosystems and sustainability-focused education has never been more important. In response to these needs, the LEAP II – Local Adult Education Policy II project was launched as a collaborative European initiative aimed at empowering local authorities and communities through lifelong learning, green skills development, and the promotion of the Learning Cities approach.

LEAP II builds upon the foundations established by the previous LEAP I project, which focused on strengthening local adult education policies and increasing participation in lifelong learning. While LEAP I helped municipalities and educational stakeholders better understand the importance of adult education and local learning strategies, LEAP II expanded this vision by placing a stronger emphasis on sustainability, environmental awareness, and green competences as key drivers for resilient and future-oriented communities.

The project brought together partners from several European countries, combining expertise in adult education, community development, policy-making, and sustainability. The consortium included organisations from Slovakia, Belgium, Italy, Spain, Romania, and Hungary, coordinated by AINova (Slovakia), working together to develop practical and accessible resources for local authorities, educators, and citizens.

Throughout its implementation, LEAP II focused on helping smaller cities and municipalities better understand how the concept of Learning Cities, promoted by UNESCO, can become a practical and achievable framework for local development. The project particularly addressed the growing need to improve green skills, encourage citizen participation in learning, and support local governance in tackling sustainability-related challenges.

One of the major strengths of LEAP II lies in its concrete and user-friendly results, developed to support both policy-makers and local communities. The project produced three main sets of outcomes designed to inspire action and facilitate the adoption of sustainable learning initiatives at local level.

The first result is a collection of Case Studies on Education for Sustainability and Learning Cities, accompanied by an analytical report exploring experiences from selected Learning Cities across Europe. These case studies provide practical examples of how municipalities and educational ecosystems can promote sustainability, community engagement, and lifelong learning through collaborative local initiatives.

The second result is the development of a Green Skills Micro-learning Platform, offering attractive and easy-to-use learning materials designed to help citizens acquire essential sustainability competences in both their personal and professional lives. The micro-learning approach was specifically chosen to make learning more flexible, accessible, and engaging for adults and communities with different educational backgrounds and needs.

The third result is the Manual for Building Learning Cities, a practical guide containing recommendations, methodologies, and experience-based good practices to help local authorities and educational actors replicate project actions and develop community-based learning initiatives focused on sustainability and lifelong learning.

By combining policy support, educational innovation, and community engagement, LEAP II contributes to the broader European effort to strengthen lifelong learning systems and support the green transition at local level. The project demonstrates that even smaller municipalities can play a meaningful role in creating more sustainable, inclusive, and learning-oriented communities when equipped with the right tools, partnerships, and educational resources.

The LEAP II project was co-funded by the Erasmus+ Programme of the European Commission, supporting international cooperation in education, training, youth, and sport across Europe. All project results and materials are available in multilingual and open-access formats, ensuring that local authorities, educators, organisations, and citizens across Europe can freely access, use, and adapt the resources developed by the consortium.

To know more about the project and access all open-access multilingual resources, please visit:
https://www.leap2local.eu/2/index.html