--- Received from UIE.UHBOC (4940)44 80 41-0 01-08-24 17:51
-> alw-international-list(a)ala.asn.au
Dear friends and colleagues,
I would like to add some complementary information to the report on the ALW
workshop at ICAE's World Assembly which Kate had kindly prepared and shared
with us.
As Kate pointed out in her report, the discussions during the workshop, as
well as a separate consultation process which had taken place some weeks
before the assembly, addressed - aside from the sharing of experiences -
the common expectations vis-à-vis the international dimension of the ALW
movement. I would, thus, like to recapitulate what has evolved as the basic
vision on and concrete plans for the future development of IntALW:
=> Overall, IntALW is clearly conceived as an important advocacy tool
within a wider strategy to promote and raise the profile of adult learning,
for the democratization of education, for lifelong learning, and for civil
society participation on the whole. For this purpose, a more systematic
collective mechanism for communication and reporting (among us and for
exposure towards a greater public) is, first of all, needed.
=> To create this collective communication tool and data base, I am setting
up an IntALW website hosted on UIE's homepage to be ready for the 8th of
September of this year. The site will be under "permanent construction",
that is it will be modified, enriched and fed by the new developments at
national and international level as they are occurring. As a starting
point, the site will include the following elements:
- a description of IntALW (aim, contents etc),
- an overview/calendar of national ALWs,
- descriptions of national events with contact coordinates and links to
their websites,
- a link to the e-forum hosted on ALA's homepage,
- reference/links to related documents and other relevant websites,
- the electronic version of the "Learning Festivals Guide",
- news.
=> With a view to the coming years and in response to the strong demand for
technical support, UIE will develop the training and capacity building
dimension of IntALW. Each year, one national ALW will be focused on in one
of the regions. Adult educators from other countries from this particular
region will be invited to join the festival in order to share the
experiences and to learn on-site, in order to start or improve the
festivals in their own countries.
=> Mechanisms of evaluation and research on ALWs will be devised, both on
their impact as well as on the state of the art of adult and lifelong
learning that they mirror, for instance within the CONFINTEA mid-term
review process and events which UIE will be undertaking.
=> A final clarifying word on the issue of a "United Nations ALW": The
background is that UNESCO's official resolution which provided the ground
for the launch of IntALW called on the UN Secretary-General to promote the
idea and development of a UNALW. As part of the advocacy strategy to bring
adult and lifelong learning to the forefront of international agendas as
one of the crucial issue in all spheres of human concern, UIE recognizes
the importance of this further development. However, this task is complex
and will require a lot of political manoeuvring, careful coalitions and
good timing. UIE will, thus, address this goal with a mid-term perspective.
With best wishes from Hamburg,
Bettina Bochynek
UIE
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