Conference Program

In the contemporary context, characterized by biographical transitions, job losses, and growing social inequalities, adult education and lifelong learning assume a strategic role in promoting inclusion, active citizenship, and social justice. Lifelong learning is no longer simply an educational opportunity, but a fundamental educational right, capable of supporting adults in the processes of educational, professional, and existential reorientation throughout their lives (Delors, 1996; European Commission, 2019). This paper offers a theoretical and conceptual reflection on career guidance as a transformative pedagogical practice in adult education contexts, interpreting it as a generative device grounded in the dimensions of freedom, responsibility, and desire (Riva, 2017; Mannese, 2023). Drawing on the paradigm of generative pedagogy and the educational empowerment approach (Freire, 1976; Zimmerman, 2000), the analysis developed here challenges a static and individualistic conception of talent, proposing instead a dynamic, relational, and processual interpretation. Talent is understood as the outcome of journeys of awareness, reflexivity, and planning that develop over time through the interaction between subjectivity, training contexts, and educational opportunities, within a capability-oriented perspective that values ​​individuals' real possibilities for choice and action (Sen, 1999; Nussbaum, 2012). Within this framework, lifelong guidance takes on an emancipatory and inclusive function, capable of accompanying adults through moments of transition and vulnerability, supporting their autonomy, capacity for choice, and the construction of meaningful life projects (Guichard, 2021; Riva, 2020). Particular attention is paid to enhancing individual biographies and non-formal and informal learning experiences, recognized as key resources for building lifelong learning paths geared towards equity and the recognition of differences (Formenti et al., 2017; Mortari, 2003). Adult education is thus interpreted as a generative and democratic space, in which reflexivity, nurturing educational relationships, and the intentional design of learning contexts foster processes of social inclusion and active participation. The proposed reflection highlights how orientational educational practices, grounded in reflective, autobiographical, and dialogic approaches, can contribute to countering exclusion, precariousness, and marginalization, promoting the exercise of responsible and sustainable freedom. In conclusion, the adopted perspective proposes a vision of adult education and lifelong learning as key practices for building a culture of inclusion, capable of valorizing subjectivities, recognizing life paths, and supporting individual and collective transformation within a framework of educational and social justice.