Concepts such as lifelong learning, life-wide learning and skills for the 21st century were received by heritage institutions with great enthusiasm 10-15 years ago. Archives, museums and other heritage institutions saw the chance to advocate for the organisational potential in learning through heritage in a learning society.
By the end of the first decade of the 21st century the financial and economic crisis took its firm grip on all policy areas, and it became ever clearer that policies on learning as competence development were only addressing issues in regard to employability in order to be able to address issues related to the need for basic skills development and the postponing of retirement age for older adults.
In doing so the largest growing group in our European population (retired older adults) were left outside policy development. Older adults were forgotten by mainstream politics at the same time as the societal challenges for this specific group were addressed as a social problem in other European settings regarding issues related to healthy and active ageing.
This paper will try to outline some of the reactions from different European heritage institutions which operate on a regional and local level. These are examples that might influence policy development in the coming years.