Russian Federation

*** 2003 ***

From 20 - 24 October a learning festival will be carried out in Novokuznetzk under the principal theme "Adult Education and Quality of Life". The festival will also feature issues of learning with regard to tolerance, human rights, environmental protection, and will look at families and retired people. It is prepared by the Russian office of IIZ/DVV iizdvv@online.ru.

*** 2002 ***  

Siberian Adult Education Festival 
“We live – we learn, we learn – we live”

The Siberian Association of Adult Education organised in cooperation with the Russian office of the Institute for International Cooperation of the German Adult Education Association (IIZ/DVV) and the Administration of Novosibirsk the first Siberian Adult Education Festival in Novosibirsk on 22 - 24 October 2002.

The festival was set up to bring all institutions, organisations and public together to develop regional programs and to promote adult education. One of the aims was also to raise awareness of the public and the state of the problems in AE. In the festival, several presentations, exhibitions, workshops, seminars and social events took place. As an outcome, new Adult Education concepts were adopted and arrangements were established in the region. The networking cross regional borders and dialogue between the state organs and NGOs together with the new ideas and jobs also marked the success of the festival.

For more information, please contact:
Olga Agapova
IIZ/DVV Office
P.O.BOX 122
53501 Lappeenranta
Finland
tel +7-812-252-3631
fax +7-812-252-6497
iizdvv@online.ru

************

A festival in September 2002 was carried out jointly with Ukraine, and events were set up in parallel in the two countries under one common umbrella. The festival culminated with an international expert meeting in Anapa on "Quality of Education and Quality of Life".

New intiatives on adult learners week at regional and local level have been developed in different parts of the Russian Federation. A first learning festival took place in Sibiria (Novosibirsk) in October 2002.

************

Background...
The model of adult learners' week developed in Russia is unique in Europe. The first week was organized in January 2000 as a Mobile International Institute. A special train from St. Petersburg to Vladivostok crossed the entire country from the western border to the Eastern coast. Specialists on board of this train, including a few colleagues from other European countries taking part in the trip, discussed problems of adult education and planned activities for the future. Some 100 educational institutions in different cities along the way were visited, and possible forms of interaction between the state and NGOs in adult education were explored.

In 2001, another extraordinary form was chosen for the Russian adult learners' week. From  9 to 24 September, a boat trip was undertaken from Nizhni Novgorod to Asrakhan and back on the river Volga covering one region of the country on its way. All the activities, thus, took place at regional and local level. The participants on the boat were able to take part in workshops on different topics, and upon termination of the week they were given a certificate confirming that they had upgraded their skills in the field of adult education management. A specific focus during the week was put on the project "Beautiful Schools International" and its possibilities as a basis for building learning societies in rural areas as well as for teacher training.

The pronounced main purpose of the cruise was to promote the idea of adult learning in Russia and to create common educational spaces across the country. The second purpose was to train the future organisers of learning festivals in the region. Both adult learners weeks have been coordinated by the St. Petersburg-based organization House of Europe. However, the Russian Ministry of Education as well as the UNESCO National Commission were involved in this year's event and shared the opening ceremony. A third adult learners' week is already foreseen for 2002.

Contact:
Nina Litvinova
House of Europe
Fontanka 78
191180 St. Petersburg
Russia
tel  +7-812-528-10-08 /114-72-55
fax +7 812 114 72 55
spb251@spb.sitek.net
www.adweek.cv.ua (in Russian and English)