Community education is adult learning which takes place in local community settings across Ireland. It is learner-centred and responds to the needs of the local community. Community education has a track record of effectively engaging with people who wish to return to education but may not have the confidence or opportunity to do so in a formal setting. It leads to many possibilities for learners and communities, including skills development, confidence building, greater community involvement and progression to further education or employment.
The webinar will present examples of how to advocate adult learning at the local level. The speakers, Kertu Eensaar and Monica Marfeldt, will share their work on the AGENDA project, which focused on the implementation of the European Agenda for Adult Learning. The Association of Estonian Adult Educators Andras also prepared a network model for their 60 members, focusing on regional coordinators and effective cooperation with different stakeholders of adult education. They will also explain their connection to local governments and showcase successful methods of collaboration with them.
The webinar will introduce the participants to the main funding tools used in Europe for financing adult learning and their effectiveness, as researched by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development. Specific attention will be paid to funding mechanisms that are decentralized. During group discussions, the participants will also get to reflect on the tools used in their contexts and share their recommendations for improving the financing of adult learning.
The workshop seeks to familiarise key actors on the ground with different EU frameworks and tools in order to better engage their actions with the European context, which will facilitate their internationalisation and reach out at European level in the long term.