RA Bologna Declaration

Bologna Declaration

aka

• the Bologna Process
• the Bologna Accord
• the Bologna Process towards the European higher Educational Space

As you've probably guessed, the Bologna Process is not about making lunch meat, it's about standardizing education. The accord was adopted in 1999, and continues as the Bologna Process today.

Audience
Universities in the European Union and government agencies regulating those universities. The nations involved have rivalries over centuries, even millenia, and are fiercely proud of their culture. The universities addressed include the first universities ever in Europe.

WATCO standardization in European education?

Argument in short
The continuing effort of promoting a unified European educational system will promote a unified society in the EU. Specifically the regulation and actions of the Bologna Accord will promote a unified "educational space" which in turn will increase citizens' "mobility, employability, and the Continent's overall development," as well as "an awareness of shared values and belonging to a common social and cultural space."

Ethos
The tone is carefully diplomatic. To establish a friendly and yet authoritative tone the document notes that suggestions are representative of "authoritative experts" from all member countries and "very useful."

Logos
"There is growing awareness of the need." This phrase establishes the need as a fact. Additionally everybody knows about the need and supports doing something about it (implied by "political and academic world and in public opinion") Thus we should do something about filling that need.

Appealing to national pride, the Accord argues that since "the vitality and efficiency of any civilisation can be measured by the appeal that its culture has for other countries," the EU should promote an educational system that capable of attracting the same world-wide attention as its science and culture.

Pathos
"The situation in South East Europe" is given as a reason for unifying Europe. The genocide was then in the forefront of the media and fresh in people's minds across Europe and is still remembered almost a decade later.

Effective?

The Bologna Accord is typical of the series of agreements that are creating the EU.

Given that representatives from all participating countries have signed the accord, we hope that the document is accurate in it's details.

The Accord remains relevant today in the Bologna Process. Universities have begun standardization and continue to apply to be part of the accord to access the promised opportunities.