International Adult Learners Week IALW 2005
– Education for All in an Era of Increasing Mobility: The
Implications for Adult Learning
Oslo, Norway, 24 – 26 October 2005
Beautiful
sunshine glistening on snow-white trees welcomed the 150 participants,
representing more than forty countries from all world regions, to the
2005 International Adult Learners
Week (IALW) in October in Oslo. Hosted by the Norwegian Ministry
of Education and Research and the UNESCO Institute for Education (UIE),
and organized in cooperation with the Norwegian UNESCO Commission, the
Norwegian National Institute for Adult Education (Vox) and the
Norwegian Association for Adult Education (Vofo), the event was opened
on Monday morning, 24 October, by representatives of the host
organizations. In his welcome address, the Norwegian Minister of
Education and Research, Mr Øystein Kåre Djupedal, recalled
that learning festivals are advocacy instruments for learning and
participation, and expressed his hope that the IALW conference 2005
would provide a trans-national forum
for exchange and policy dialogue on the importance of adult and
lifelong learning.
And indeed it was! Following the focus on literacy and citizenship of last year’s IALW meeting in Cape Town, South Africa, “Education for All in an Era of Increasing Mobility: The Implications for Adult Learning” had been chosen as the 2005 IALW theme in Oslo. A multi-dimensional understanding of mobility (geographical, social, and cultural, but also personal and spiritual) provided the overall background against which participants explored the role of adult learnin
g, clustered around three major thematic
threads:
1) Education for All,
2) Life Skills, and
3) Diversity and Participation.
Each theme was introduced through one or more keynote addresses in a plenary session, followed by parallel workshops where concrete experiences and best practice from different countries were presented and further discussed.
A culturally and institutionally diverse group of keynote speakers introduced the respective thematic foci in the plenary sessions. The President of the Asian and South Pacific Bureau of Adult Education (ASPBAE), Ms Sandra Lee Morrison from New Zealand, highlighted the view of the NGO community on the Education for All agenda and the gaps to be filled, and explained the strategies and alliances undertaken by civil society organizations to make their contribution. She was preceded by the Vice-Minister for Continuous Education, Literacy and Diversity of Brazil, Mr Ricardo Henriques, who presented a national programme that aims at reaching out to all in a highly diverse society, and passionately argued in favour of quality and equity when discussing access to education.
The theme of life skills was opened by the renowned scholar in adult learning and literacy from USA/India, Mr Harbans S. Bhola, reflecting on the implications for research in studying and developing life skills approaches in transitional and diverse societies. He paired up with the Education Professor Mr Egil Gabrielsen from the University of Stavangar in Norway, who explained the thinking of OECD on life skills with respect to the two important trans-national surveys the organization had undertaken in recent years. The ground for the thematic focus on diversity and participation was prepared by Mr Santosh Kumar Mahadeo, the Director of the Ministry of Education and Human Resources of Mauritius, who reiterated the complexity and the high demands for communicative skills in modern societies and strongly advocated for educational approaches which help learners develop competencies to cope with these complex contexts.
of different populations, the mobilization potential of learning
festivals and the growing role and networks of learners.
Of course, International ALW celebrations are not the same as learning festivals at national or local level, which are dominated by public events, informal exhibitions and learner-centered activities. IALW aims to increase the intern
ational
visibility and recognition of the international learning festivals
movement by bringing together different stakeholders from
different countries: high-ranking national and international education
officials, lifelong learning experts from diverse
contexts, and the protagonists of the international learning festivals
scene - namely coordinators and learners. It is for this group of
people to meet, exchange, discuss and network. IALW 2005 for instance
provided the opportunity for the inter-regional steering
group of the Adult Learning Documentation and Information Network ALADIN to get together in a
face-to-face meeting and to mobilize new members. Accordingly, the
conference character of IALW 2005 was dominant. However, the time and
location of the meeting had not been chosen at random; IALW 2005 took
place in conjunction with the national Norwegian Adult Learners Week. A
full morning was reserved for study visits to a variety of learning
sites in and around Oslo. IALW also provided the space to honour and
celebrate adult learners who have made a remarkable journey through
learning and to outstanding adult learning initiatives from Norway!
However, apart from being celebrated, adult learners played an active role in the IALW conference as both plenary and workshop speakers – making the case for themselves and partnering with other learners and with providers to form networks and learners’ forums across countries and regions. The meeting concluded with Mr Jan-Helge Svendsen, an adult learner from Norway, who gave an account to all participants of his learning journey and involvement in the first European learners’ forum. His intervention was the last of three advocacy speeches on the value of learning festivals and the importance of self-organization of learners delivered by Ms Katarina Popovic, the learning festival coordinator from Serbia & Montenegro and by Ms Susan Nielson, the Director of the first sustainable adult student association in Canada.
A synthesis of the conference discussion was finally presented by Ms Anne Katahoire from the University of Makere in Uganda, speaking on behalf of a group of four conference participants who had kindly agreed to wrap up the reflections and discussions. And finally, IALW 2005 was closed by the recently appointed Assistant Director-General for Education at UNESCO, Mr Peter Smith, who demonstrated his recognition for the value of IALW by presenting an outlook of UNESCO’s future education strategies – including a prominent place for adult and lifelong learning as essential elements. (For a full copy of selected speeches and presentations, please check the website of VOX: www.vox.no/ialw-conference)
Oslo, Norway, 24 – 26 October 2005
Beautiful
sunshine glistening on snow-white trees welcomed the 150 participants,
representing more than forty countries from all world regions, to the
2005 International Adult Learners
Week (IALW) in October in Oslo. Hosted by the Norwegian Ministry
of Education and Research and the UNESCO Institute for Education (UIE),
and organized in cooperation with the Norwegian UNESCO Commission, the
Norwegian National Institute for Adult Education (Vox) and the
Norwegian Association for Adult Education (Vofo), the event was opened
on Monday morning, 24 October, by representatives of the host
organizations. In his welcome address, the Norwegian Minister of
Education and Research, Mr Øystein Kåre Djupedal, recalled
that learning festivals are advocacy instruments for learning and
participation, and expressed his hope that the IALW conference 2005
would provide a trans-national forum
for exchange and policy dialogue on the importance of adult and
lifelong learning.And indeed it was! Following the focus on literacy and citizenship of last year’s IALW meeting in Cape Town, South Africa, “Education for All in an Era of Increasing Mobility: The Implications for Adult Learning” had been chosen as the 2005 IALW theme in Oslo. A multi-dimensional understanding of mobility (geographical, social, and cultural, but also personal and spiritual) provided the overall background against which participants explored the role of adult learnin
g, clustered around three major thematic
threads: 1) Education for All,
2) Life Skills, and
3) Diversity and Participation.
Each theme was introduced through one or more keynote addresses in a plenary session, followed by parallel workshops where concrete experiences and best practice from different countries were presented and further discussed.
A culturally and institutionally diverse group of keynote speakers introduced the respective thematic foci in the plenary sessions. The President of the Asian and South Pacific Bureau of Adult Education (ASPBAE), Ms Sandra Lee Morrison from New Zealand, highlighted the view of the NGO community on the Education for All agenda and the gaps to be filled, and explained the strategies and alliances undertaken by civil society organizations to make their contribution. She was preceded by the Vice-Minister for Continuous Education, Literacy and Diversity of Brazil, Mr Ricardo Henriques, who presented a national programme that aims at reaching out to all in a highly diverse society, and passionately argued in favour of quality and equity when discussing access to education.
The theme of life skills was opened by the renowned scholar in adult learning and literacy from USA/India, Mr Harbans S. Bhola, reflecting on the implications for research in studying and developing life skills approaches in transitional and diverse societies. He paired up with the Education Professor Mr Egil Gabrielsen from the University of Stavangar in Norway, who explained the thinking of OECD on life skills with respect to the two important trans-national surveys the organization had undertaken in recent years. The ground for the thematic focus on diversity and participation was prepared by Mr Santosh Kumar Mahadeo, the Director of the Ministry of Education and Human Resources of Mauritius, who reiterated the complexity and the high demands for communicative skills in modern societies and strongly advocated for educational approaches which help learners develop competencies to cope with these complex contexts.
of different populations, the mobilization potential of learning
festivals and the growing role and networks of learners.Of course, International ALW celebrations are not the same as learning festivals at national or local level, which are dominated by public events, informal exhibitions and learner-centered activities. IALW aims to increase the intern
ational
visibility and recognition of the international learning festivals
movement by bringing together different stakeholders from
different countries: high-ranking national and international education
officials, lifelong learning experts from diverse
contexts, and the protagonists of the international learning festivals
scene - namely coordinators and learners. It is for this group of
people to meet, exchange, discuss and network. IALW 2005 for instance
provided the opportunity for the inter-regional steering
group of the Adult Learning Documentation and Information Network ALADIN to get together in a
face-to-face meeting and to mobilize new members. Accordingly, the
conference character of IALW 2005 was dominant. However, the time and
location of the meeting had not been chosen at random; IALW 2005 took
place in conjunction with the national Norwegian Adult Learners Week. A
full morning was reserved for study visits to a variety of learning
sites in and around Oslo. IALW also provided the space to honour and
celebrate adult learners who have made a remarkable journey through
learning and to outstanding adult learning initiatives from Norway!|
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| In addition and exceptionally, the 2005 IALW meeting also allowed for the presentation of UIE’s International Award for Literacy Research. The Ambassador of Nigeria to UNESCO, Mr Michael Omolewa, handed over the certificates to the two authors who will share the 2005 Award for their studies on adult literacy, Ms Sofia Valdivielso Goméz from Spain and Mr Harbans S.Bhola from USA/India. | |
However, apart from being celebrated, adult learners played an active role in the IALW conference as both plenary and workshop speakers – making the case for themselves and partnering with other learners and with providers to form networks and learners’ forums across countries and regions. The meeting concluded with Mr Jan-Helge Svendsen, an adult learner from Norway, who gave an account to all participants of his learning journey and involvement in the first European learners’ forum. His intervention was the last of three advocacy speeches on the value of learning festivals and the importance of self-organization of learners delivered by Ms Katarina Popovic, the learning festival coordinator from Serbia & Montenegro and by Ms Susan Nielson, the Director of the first sustainable adult student association in Canada.
A synthesis of the conference discussion was finally presented by Ms Anne Katahoire from the University of Makere in Uganda, speaking on behalf of a group of four conference participants who had kindly agreed to wrap up the reflections and discussions. And finally, IALW 2005 was closed by the recently appointed Assistant Director-General for Education at UNESCO, Mr Peter Smith, who demonstrated his recognition for the value of IALW by presenting an outlook of UNESCO’s future education strategies – including a prominent place for adult and lifelong learning as essential elements. (For a full copy of selected speeches and presentations, please check the website of VOX: www.vox.no/ialw-conference)