7. Calls for a holistic approach to education and training which addresses both academic and vocational aspects and recalls that the broader mission of education should be recognised with regard to personal growth and development; urges further support of the acquisition and recognition of competences based on non-formal and informal learning, and highlights the role of such learning as part of an overal
l lifelong learning strategy aimed at a socially inclusive knowledge society with strong individuals and active citizens; points out that the realisation of such a strategy will hinge on the degree of independe
nce which ...[+++]our young people can achieve;