International Adult Learners' Study Tour
London (Cardiff & Manchester), UK
22 - 26 May 2005
I. INTRODUCTION
The International Adult Learners’ Study Tour was a follow-up activity
to the International Adult Learners’
Forum, carried out in October 2004 at Knuston Hall, Northamptonshire,
UK. Both activities were part of IntALWinE. They aimed
at providing space for learners to share their experiences across different
European countries, and to discuss future strategies for an improved involvement
of learner representatives at national and European levels in policy development
and in the design of learning provision.
Concretely, the objectives of the Study Tour were:
- To review the outcomes of the Forum last October, e.g.:
- Have the forum participants been able to report back to the learning
festival coordinator in their country?
- Have the participants been involved in any national activity
after the forum, or have they been introduced into lobby work?
- Has the participation in the forum been publicized in the respective
national contexts, and if so, has it created any interest or impact?
- Has it been possible to initiate a national learners forum, or
to introduce the idea for such a forum in the respective constituencies
and vis-à-vis policy makers?
- To visit activities that were organised by, with or for learners,
both in London as well as in two local regions (Cardiff and Manchester),
including the central launching event and Award ceremony of the UK Adult
Learners’ Week in London, and to meet informally with Award Winners.
- To collectively discuss and explore about possibilities for a continuation
and further development of the adult learners forums movement, both
within the respective countries of the international participants as
well as at international/European level. (See also: the lanning
Workshop for a European Learners' Network)
Being a follow-up activity of last year’s International
Forum, the participants of the Study Tour were mostly
the same as those of the forum last year. They were:
- Mr Socrates Kountouris from Cyprus;
- Ms Dusica Kunaver from Slovenia;
- Ms Eda Anton from Estonia;
- Ms Valentina Georgieva from Bulgaria;
- Mr Jan Helge Svendsen from Norway;
- Ms Nijole Popoviene from Lithuania;
- Ms Ioana Jalba from Romania;
- Mr Agust Thorlaksson from Iceland (replacing Ms Helga Ösp Jóhannsdóttir);
- Ms Maria Bamert from Switzerland (replacing Ms Eveline Florian);
- Ms Janine Wakeman from England;
- Ms Winifred Hignell from England/Ireland;
- Mr Chris Fairgrieve from Scotland;
- Mr John Gates from Wales (not joining the London events, but hosting
the visits in Cardiff);
- Ms Zvonka Pangerc Pahernik from SIAE, Slovenia;
- Ms Berit Mykland from NAAE, Norway;
- Ms Bettina Bochynek from UIL, Germany.
- Ms Merja Lönnqvist from Finland and Ms Dulce Gonzalez Navarro
from the Netherlands, who had participated in the Forum last year and
were unable to join the Tour, were not replaced.
II. PROGRAMME
Sunday 22 May, 16:00 – 18:00, Westminster County Hall Travel
Inn – Meeting Room
The Tour started off with a group session in London on Sunday afternoon,
after all participants had arrived from the different regions in the UK
or from their respective countries. It enabled the group to get together
again and to welcome and learn to know the new participants. The session
also allowed for a closer look into and a detailed presentation of the
itinerary for the week to come.
Most importantly, the group could engage in a first exchange on the
outcomes of and activities undertaken since last year’s
International Forum. Almost all participants reported on a number
of interesting and promising initiatives resulting from their participation
in the International Forum.
- In Romania, ALW had
been carried out shortly after the International
Forum. A special questionnaire was developed and disseminated to
visitors of the learning festival (“Your Opinion Matters!”),
asking questions on the motivation of people to learn and whether they
would like to participate in a national learner’s forum. A lot
of interest was indicated in response to the questionnaire: people readily
supplied their contact details for a data base to be created. At the
same time, a public panel provided the opportunity for people to express
their opinion. Finally, an internet site was developed where learners
can express themselves and give feedback. The idea was to create a virtual
forum where learners could share their experiences. www.updalles.ro
- In Estonia, a number
of workshops had been organized at local level by the local ALW organizers,
where learners (Award winners) discussed the question of why a learners’
forum would be needed and how it could be organized. The Estonian Ministry
of Education had been informed and asked for support, and allocated
some seed money (€ 1300) for the creation of the forum. Also the
European Social Fund had indicated its willingness to give support to
the creation of a national learners’ forum. This means that there
is a precise project for developing a national adult learners’
forum, and it includes some financial resources. It was planned to set
up the forum in December 2005.
- In England (Warwickshire),
mobilization activities had focused on family learning, and on encouraging
people to use the local library. A first step had been initiated to
create a local adult learners’ forum: On 25 May 2005, a discussion
forum was organized for people to have an opportunity to express what
they want to get out of learning. Overall, the lesson learned so far
is: in order to make people confident, learning and all related activities
have to be fun!
- In Cyprus, a questionnaire
was disseminated, in particular addressing older learners, asking them
what they would be interested to learn.
- In Norway, the assembly
of the Norwegian Association for Adult
Education (incorporating 19 regional divisions) had been used to
report on the International Forum of October 2004, and the Norwegian
participant of the International Forum could advocate for new approaches
to learning (such as the principle of self-representation), for the
transfer/copying of some ALW activities from the capital Oslo to the
local regions (e.g. learners’ awards), and for the overall idea
of a national Norwegian adult learners’ forum. The Norwegian participant
of the International Forum was also going to be part of the national
reference group to help prepare a global
ALW conference (hosted by the Norwegian Ministry of Education and
UNESCO) in conjunction with the next national Norwegian ALW in October
2005.
- In Lithuania, the Lithuanian
participant of the International Forum, reported to the national adult
learning association, also in a library, during a seminar and at a college.
More substantial reporting was planned after the Study Tour. These reports
woild be included in the website of the Lithuanian
Association of Adult Education, and will be further publicized and
discussed during Lithuania’s ALW in November, which will be carried
out under the motto “Citizenship in Practice”. The idea
of a national adult learner’s forum would also be included in
the applications to funders (World Bank, National UNESCO Commission,
Ministry of Education) who support ALW in Lithuania. Finally, the Lithuanian
participant of the International Forum was going to share her experiences
at local events organized in the framework of Lithuania’s ALW.
- In Bulgaria, the Bulgarian
participant of the International Forum initiated a first discussion
with the coordinator of the Bulgarian learning
festival, hoping that the issue of a national adult learner’s
forum might be included in the coming festivals.
- In Slovenia, the Slovenian
learner participant had had a chance to introduce the idea of a learners’
forum during a speech at the opening ceremony of ALW, and in a related
press conference. The idea was further disseminated in the committees
and networks involved in Slovenia’s ALW as well as in the “expert
council for adult education”. It was also publicized in the bulletin
of the Slovenian Institute for Adult Education.
There was a firm intention and concrete plans to set up a first adult
learners’ forum(s), as part of the tenth anniversary of Slovenia’s
ALW in October 2005.
- In Finland, the idea
of a national adult learners’ forum had been disseminated following
the International Forum, in particular within the Finnish
Adult Education Association and its branches, but also in the media.
However, the Finnish participant of the International Forum, despite
her enthusiasm when returning, felt incapable (due to her family situation
and a perceived lack of power) of pushing the idea further within Finland.
A lot of support to motivate local people would be needed, which was
not (yet) the reality in Finland. So no concrete plans existed to date.
The overall idea of a national adult learners’ forum was partly
positively received, and partly considered as not really necessary (“Aren’t
we all learners?”)
- In the Netherlands,
several meetings with the national and local ALW coordinators were held
following the International Adult Learners Forum where the Dutch participant
could share her experiences. She also had a chance to give a short presentation
during a European Leonardo conference last December, where IntALWinE
had organized one of its working meetings. However,
lack of time and lack of funding for the Dutch ALW on the one hand,
and the personal situation of the Dutch Forum participant have prevented
any concrete plans for a national Dutch forum to date. Yet, there were
hopes to try to initiate the first small steps locally in those regions,
where ALW was still funded and functioning. One possibility was to use
the already existing self-organizations of literacy learners as a springboard
for other adult learners.
After these reports, the programme of the Study Tour continued with the
following activities:
Monday 23 May, 10:30 – 15:00, Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre
On Monday, the group was invited to attend the central launch
event and Award ceremony of the 14th UK
Adult Learners Week, taking place in the Queen Elizabeth
Conference Centre in central London.
Before the ceremony began, a brief discussion had been arranged for
the group to meet and discuss with Naomi Sargent, a long-standing senior
research officer at the IntALWinE partner organization
from the UK, NIACE (National Institute
of Adult and Continuing Education)and a previous staff member at the
UK Open University. Ms Sargent gave the group an overview about her experiences
in developing the first adult education programme at Channel 4, a UK-wide
TV station which came into being as a new model, commercially-funded yet
with distinct social objectives. Trying to offer an alternative to the
more conventional BBC, which had sometimes been perceived as “boring”,
the development of education programmes at Channel 4 followed a number
of principles. One such principle was to undertake previous investigations
into what different age groups wanted to get out from different learning;
another one was to go beyond the mere coverage of latest news and hot
issues, and to present issues in ways that would help viewers to understand
the context and background of the issues.
Following this session, the ALW launch ceremony began, including a number
of speakers (e.g. Alan Tuckett, Director of NIACE, and Tony Robinson,
a famous UK TV comedian) and an audience of some 200 participants (learners
and educators) from all over the UK. The most important part of the ceremony
was dedicated to the presentation of Awards to groups
as well as to individual learners and family learning projects. While
meant as a forum where learners could be at the center and be publicly
recognized and express their sentiments, the ceremony was given elevated
acclaim through the presence and speech of the Secretary of State for
Education and Skills (corresponding to a Minister of Education in
other European countries), Ms Ruth Kelly. A greeting message from
UK Prime Minister, Tony Blair, was also distributed and read.
At the end of the ceremony, the group split into two smaller groups,
traveling separately to two distinct local regions in the UK (to Manchester
in the middle of the England and to Cardiff, the capital of Wales)in
order to get to know local initiatives that cater to learners and/or learner-led
activities in challenging environments.
Tuesday 24 May to Wednesday 25 May: Manchester
The small group’s visit in Manchester concentrated
on the Moss Side Residents’ Group, who had won an Adult Learners’
Week award for community activism.
The excursion to Manchester also included a visit to the Imperial War
Museum to meet volunteers.
Upon their arrival back in London on Wednesday afternoon, the members
of the small group joined an ALW activity in the Victoria & Albert
Museum, where pieces of artwork created by learners were exposed.
Tuesday 24 May to Wednesday 25 May: Cardiff, Wales
At the same time, the second small group traveled to Cardiff
in Wales, and was greeted by John Gates (participant of the
International Forum last October) who had prepared the programme
for the members of that small group and guided and accompanied them throughout
the two days.
The programme in Wales started on Tuesday with a visit to the valleys
one hour north of Cardiff, an areas heavily affected by the large-scale
closure of the former mining industry and subsequent massive lay-off of
employees. The group first attended a briefing at the headquarters of
the RISE Innovation Centre, an umbrella/partnership organization
incorporating “everybody who has a stake in learning in Southern
Wales” (Dave Waddington, Director of RISE). RISE is trying
to widen participation in learning. Both staff members and learners of
RISE addressed the group and informed it about their activities.
From there the group went to “Replay”, a resource
centre for art and craft groups throughout South Wales which holds a immense
stock of materials from factories for recycling and art workshops. Part
of the premises have been transformed into a training room, which is available
for training courses for small businesses which would not be able to have
their own. Next on the programme was “Catapult”,
a training facility integrated into an almost derelict building. The group
had the opportunity to meet some of the learners who use the facility
over lunch, and was struck by the enthusiasm of the learners. From there,
the group moved on to CUVE (Community University of the Valleys-East),
a university facility for adult learners, right in the middle of a shopping
centre. What was impressive about CUVE was the way learners involved
in a Learners’ Forum had made a difference: A second level university
course was being offered in the community because of learner demand, and
a crèche had been provided. Finally, the Brynteg Community
Centre concluded the series of visits for the day, giving the group
an opportunity to listen to a presentation of three learners who talked
about their achievements and the contribution they had made to learning
during the year.
On Wednesday, the group visited Cardiff Castle and was given a tour,
followed by an exchange with the Cardiff Castle Education Officer in the
education Centre, where the group learned how a building, such as Cardiff
Castle, can be used as a learning resource. Following the Castle, the
group had a wrap-up session and feed-back discussion in the Welch NIACE
office Dysgu Cymru. It traveled back to London in the afternoon.
Thursday 26 May, 10:00 – 16:00, Abbey Community Centre, London
On Thursday, the whole group reconvened for a concluding discussion
in London, reviewing the activities of the Tour and reflecting
on possible steps to continue the international group in support
of national and European learners’ forums and networks. The first
part of the day was facilitated by Sue Duffin, who had already prepared
and led the International Forum the year before
and had offered her voluntary help for the purpose of the final morning
discussion.
The session started off with a reflection and ensuing exchange on the
three things the group had learned during the past days, and how this
could be related to their own situation. It then proceeded to small group
work in order to develop a collective presentation of what people had
experienced in the two local regions. One very important issue observed
was the importance of partnership. Another crucial lesson learnt was that
learners can, indeed, have an influence on programmes. Ideas for enriching
the Award ceremonies were gained from the Launch event on Monday, such
as preparing a huge cake and inviting everybody on stage to share when
closing. The volunteer programme at the Imperial War museum in Manchester
provided a lot of inspiration to take back home. To have a public Award
ceremony, which is not yet the reality in all countries which have a learning
festival, and to reach out to learners and ask them what they want were
two of the major ideas to bring home. Finally, special thanks were expressed
to John for being such a fantastic host and guide in Wales.
In the afternoon, the focus was on exploring the barriers and strategies
for involving learners, as well as on discussing the way forward for an
international partnership or network on the basis of the current international
group. A presentation on the history of the UK Adult Learners’ Forum
and how it is evolving into an Adult Learners’ Network was given
to the group by Winifred Hignell. The latest development in the UK is
a publication done by learners for learners (a tool for expression and
visibility), which is currently being produced and planned to be distributed
all over the country on a quarterly basis.
Very useful concrete recommendations for reaching out to and
involving learners and setting up a (local) forum were provided
by Winifred Hignell. They included:
- Gain clarification first of all on why you want learners to be involved
- Try to find out what would learners like to do
- Use the learners you already “got” in order to reach out
to other learners (friends, family…)
- Take into account that learners will want to take over concrete tasks
(be a champion, to training on committee skills)
- Never invite one learner on his/her own, but invite at least two or
more so that they can give themselves mutual support
- Think about the related costs and who will pay for them (communication
costs)
- Never expect a learner to pay for his/her own expense, such as transport
- When designing materials (pamphlets, flyers), take into consideration
that they need to address people who do not consider themselves as learners
- Provide the necessary support infrastructure (computer, fax etc)
- When trying to set up a (local) forum, write up a mission statement
or a constitution or at least concrete objectives so that everybody
knows immediately what they are signing on to
- Try to have “matched funding” schemes (the Toronto Adult
Student Association is a good example), but be aware that whoever will
fund you will also want to have some control.
III. CONCLUSIONS AND FUTURE PLANS
The Study Tour ended with a final discussion among all group members.
Overall there was a sentiment that the group and its activities
were the beginning of something that could be very effective.
It was mentioned that it would be ideal if the group could visit all the
other countries of the group members, and if two representatives of each
country could take part in the (future) activities. Yet, funding remains,
as always, a big challenge. Each group member should, thus, explore whether
funding possibilities exist in their respective countries. Concerted fundraising
could be done in the different countries, either at the same time or at
different times (also using special days such “Raffles Day”
or the Learners’ Day).
For the purpose of a continued international group/network, a mission
statement should be drafted. It might also be explored whether the information
on the activities already undertaken could be collated and published as
an advocacy document to address politicians and funders. The adult education
associations in the different countries should be tapped as support structures.
On the longer run, more countries should join so that the international
group would have more legitimacy and a voice in international meetings
and frameworks.
The first concrete step to continue the international group/network
was the creation of an international core
group of adult learners to act as a driver for the future
communication and initiatives. The following group members volunteered
to be part of the core group:
- Agust Thorlaksson from Iceland,
- Ioana Jalba from Romania,
- Jan Helge Svendsen from Norway,
- Winifred Hignell from England/Ireland, and
- John Gates from Wales.
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