YOUTH 2020 - The position of young people in Slovenia

94 However, there are clear differences in the participation rates of young people across regions. The survey results show that in 2019/2020, on av- erage, the regions with the highest participation in non-formal educa- tion were Carinthia, Savinja, Central Sava, and Mura. “For me, there was no other choice. I knew immediately that I wanted to become a farmer, so I enrolled at the biotechnical school in Rakičan. I do not know yet how important this education is going to be for me. I will learn a lot and I will get some experience, and if I finish school, I will be able to ap- ply for grants to rent land. We have horticulture, arable farming, viticul- ture, and we also have computer science. My favourite subject is vegetable gardening because I love working in the garden, and I especially like dig- ging and tilling the soil.” (Timotej, 24 years old, young Hungarian minority citizen and future farmer) 2.3.2  INFORMAL LEARNING In addition to formal and non-formal learning, informal learning also plays an essential role in acquiring, updating, deepening, and dissemi- nating knowledge and related skills and competencies. The Memoran- dum on Lifelong Learning (2000) defines informal learning as ‘a natu- ral companion to everyday life’. Unlike formal andnon-formal education, this learning does not have to be organised or even intentional. There- fore, it is often not even recognised by individuals as learning that con- tributes to their knowledge and skills (ibid.). One of the fundamental roles in the development and promotion of informal learning is played by UNESCO (2012), which defines informal learning as learning that takes place outside educational institutions: in the family, at work, or in the community, and is primarily a reflection of an individual’s own in- terests and activities. Respondents were asked whether they had acquired knowledge in any other purposeful way in the last 12months (reading professional literature, surfing the web) in addition to specific forms of non-formal education.