Power to the People


Community learning centres, increasingly popular in Asia and the Pacific, are empowering people to take charge of their own development

Sagoutai Village in China's Guangxi Province is perched 3,500 metres above sea level. This made it virtually impossible to grow vegetables. That was until the Community Learning Centre (CLC) experimented successfully with growing turnips and, today, all families grow turnips and other vegetables.

The philosophy behind the Community Learning Centres could be summed up as - what stems from the community will last. The concept is not new, but has gained in popularity in recent years. Operating in eighteen Asian countries, CLCs are intended to mobilize and empower people to take charge of their own and their community's development. "Each learning centre is a typically home-grown phenomenon based on community-based
decision-making," says Hameed A. Hakeem, Co-ordinator of the Asia-Pacific Programme of Education for All (APPEAL) at UNESCO Bangkok. "Each community has to reflect on its own needs and find solutions that work."

Community Learning Centres are as varied as their settings. It was mainly to solve the unemployment problem during the Asian economic crisis that the CLC in Klongtoey, an
urban slum near Bangkok, was set up. Participants opted for skills linked to jobs, such as the production of organic fertilizer, massage or dressmaking. The poor were able to borrow money to set up a small business and a senior citizens' club was opened. "People are now more co-operative in joining in community activities," says Vichian Suchartpongkul, a member of the CLC committee.

Some CLCs provide primary schooling. This is the case in some communities in Myanmar. To improve teaching, the CLCs introduced teachers to active learning methods and grouped schools in clusters of five to seven to allow for exchange of experiences and resources. This enhances motivation on the part of teachers who feel supported by colleagues in other schools. "Teachers are discovering that it's possible to teach differently and are noticing that pupils are more interested in their lessons," says Thein Lwin, a national programme officer.

Mobilizing people, helping them assess their needs and sustaining activities are the challenges of CLCs. "It's vital to maintain a strong participatory spirit and sense of community ownership, and this takes time," says Hakeem, "UNESCO's role is to develop CLC personnel's capacity to manage and create partnerships to enhance sustainability."

Nor does Hakeem see CLCs as a definitive model. They have set in motion a flexible and open way of providing learning to people hitherto underserved or unreached, he says. "That's one of the CLCs' advantages."
Contact: Hameed A. Hakeem, UNESCO Bangkok;
E-mail: a.hakeem@unesco-proap.org

Education Today, Executive Office, Education Sector, UNESCO
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