November/December 2021

Dear Colleagues,

In this newsletter, you can read about how libraries are leading the drive for learning cities in Australia; the success of the second Global Learning Festival; the contributions of our members to UNESCO's Global Network of Learning City international conference and publications, and most importantly the day to day work of ensuring citizens have access to relevant, quality lifelong learning opportunities.

As I reflect on the year, I am amazed at the resilience and creativity of our practitioners as they have coped with having to once again be flexible as they cope with the challenges of various lockdowns etc.  I thank the ALCN Executive for their support and our members for suggesting a range of ideas on how to build this network. I also acknowledge and thank Vi Bui, our RMIT International Studies student who worked with Wyndham and ALCN this semester.

I wish everyone a peaceful celebration of Christmas and the New Year and I look forward to working with you next year.

With my best wishes.
 
Dr Leone Wheeler
Hon. CEO
Australian Learning Communities Network
Website: https://alcn.com.au/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/aus.alcn
+61 (0) 456 038 236     Email: [email protected]

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Feature Paper
Exploring the connection between lifelong learning, learning cities and libraries at the Libtech21 Symposium
 

 

Written by Lara Pugh, Project Leader Learning City Wollongong City Libraries.

Wollongong City Libraries is driving a whole-of-Council, city-wide project to establish Wollongong as a UNESCO learning city by 2024. On 28 October 2021, the Project Leader Learning City seized the opportunity to present at the National Library and Information Technicians’ Online Symposium 2021 and explore the theme Connections in relation to lifelong learning, learning cities and libraries.

The presentation and paper “Lifelong Learning, Learning Cities and Libraries – Connecting parts to create a whole” concludes that there is a clear connection between lifelong learning, learning cities and libraries. In the Australian local government context, libraries often take responsibility for lifelong learning in Community Strategic Plans,  meeting the diverse needs of their communities.

At a national level, the Australia Libraries and Information Association (ALIA) has demonstrated its commitment to lifelong learning and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through Stretch Targets for Australian Libraries 2020-2030, released this year. Targets address literacy; access to knowledge; equitable access; culture and heritage; sustainable communities; contribution to health and wellbeing; diversity and gender equality; lifelong learning; and global citizenship. ALIA outlines activities and measurements to build the capacity of library professionals and allow progress to be tracked. ALIA’s stretch targets align well with the UNESCO Learning City framework at a global level (UNESCO UIL, 2015).

The UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning offers libraries the framework, resources and network to demonstrate leadership at a local level and drive a strategic initiative that aims to establish a coordinated approach to interdivisional, cross-sector lifelong learning initiatives. The humble local library is presented with an opportunity to lead the way and promote lifelong learning for all in their local community, exemplifying the saying, ‘Think global, act local’.

The presentation and paper present another conclusion around the theme of connection for libraries and learning cities: Connection is a key ingredient to establishing a learning city. The ability to forge connections and working relationships with a broad range of stakeholders is critical to developing a shared vision for a learning city. In Wollongong, connections are being made within the library and across Wollongong City Council; what’s more, relationships are being established with local organisations, education providers and the communities they serve. Wollongong is also forging relationships with national and international learning city networks and organisations through its membership to the ALCN and PASCAL Observatory and its participation in events like the Global Learning Festival. It is undeniable that connection plays a critical role in establishing a learning city.

Lara Pugh (Wollongong) and Jac Torres Gomez (Wyndham) are currently developing a paper that explores the role of libraries in learning cities, communities and regions. If you work in a library and contribute to learning city, community or region, please get in touch with Lara [email protected] by the end of 2021. This paper will be presented at ALIA National 2022 in Canberra in May.

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The 2021 Global Learning Festival - 8-11 November 2021
The Global Learning Festival seeks to provide unity and connection to communities all over the world
 

The review was written by Jac Gomez-Torres

Running from 8-11 November 2021, the Global Learning Festival (GLF) showcased over 95 live and recorded events delivered from across Australia, the USA, the U.K, Israel, Northern Ireland, Taiwan, Canada, Bangladesh, Kenya, Benin, Colombia, Finland, Italy, Lithuania, and Turkey.

Co-hosted by the City of Wyndham and the City of Melton along with over 20 learning communities around the world, the Global Learning Festival ran for the second time in 2021. The GLF aims to bring unity and connection to communities all over the world and to give learners a firsthand experience of the benefits that lifelong learning can bring, particularly during uncertain and challenging times.
2021 saw strong support, partnership and collaboration from PASCAL International Observatory, the Australian Learning Communities Network (ALCN), Adult Learning Australia, UNESCO Global Network of Learning Cities, RMIT University and WISE Qatar Foundation.

Topics included Cooking, History, Environment & Sustainability, International Development, Inclusion, Entrepreneurship, Reconciliation, Gardening, Cooking, Hope & Attachment, Hope & Resilience, Mentoring, Mental health and self-care, STEM, Author Talks, Career Change, Peace-Building, Human Rights, Virtual Tour of Parliament House....there was truly something for everyone! Some recorded events can be viewed on the Global Learning Festival website.

A snapshot of the Global Learning Festival includes:

• Over 95 events registered from 15 countries including Australia, the USA, the U.K, Israel, Northern Ireland, Taiwan, Canada, Bangladesh, Kenya, Benin, Colombia, Finland, Italy, Lithuania, and Turkey.
• Registrations for events came from a range of sectors including university, youth, disability, community development, libraries, local government, education, state government and the private sector.
• Over 1000 people logged in and “attended” the range of events, as well as viewing recordings.
• Over 100 presenters shared the floor across the four days to deliver a wide range of lifelong learning.
• Participants, event providers and members of the working group were surveyed to gain valuable feedback to inform planning for 2022.

Most Significant Change Story

As part of the evaluation process Vi Bui - RMIT International Development Student, mentored by Jac Gomez Torres, collected 12 Most Significant Change stories. The Global Learning Festival Working Group voted Avery's story as the most significant. Those that selected her story found it impactful as she demonstrates how learning has no geographical boundaries and that connecting with people can occur on a local and global level. Avery’s story embodies the multi-layered nature and objectives of the global learning festival. It had a global outreach, it demonstrated how lifelong learning can happen at all different ages, it showed how learning can happen in formal and informal settings and finally, it demonstrated how lifelong learning carries emotions as people are learning from each other. It also shows how partnerships and relationships can form a great impact. From the relationship with her father, Margaret from UMASS Lowell University, Diane and the students from St Therese; everyone came together to add value to each other’s life and also made Avery feel connected and empowered. 

Finding ways to beat the covid malaise 

Avery’s Story - Event Provider

Avery is 7 years old, currently in the first grade and is living in Lowell, Massachusetts USA. With the help of her father, Joe and mother, Bonnie, Avery created a baking show event where she presented two of her YouTube Baking Videos and had time afterwards for Q&A. She first started her YouTube videos during the pandemic to beat the COVID malaise and stay connected to her friends and family. Avery heard about the Global Learning Festival from her father, who was approached by Margaret Shanahan from UMASS Lowell University as Avery previously created an event for the Lowell Learning Festival. Alongside participating in community events, she also fundraises for a local non-profit organisation called Catie’s Closet. 

Avery was most impacted by the overwhelmingly positive responses she received from her event. She was most excited by a young participant who connected instantly with Avery and wanted to have a playdate as soon as possible! Avery also connected with her local community as she and her family baked a batch of jam squares and delivered it to the folks nearby. Avery’s dad received messages from households expressing their gratitude and how much they enjoyed them. Avery also received an email from Diane, one of the GLF organisers, who passed on support from the 4th graders from Saint Therese Primary School in Melbourne, Australia. The students had the opportunity in class to watch her event and bake the sweets alongside her. Avery was touched and overjoyed by their support that it brought her to happy tears. Through her event, participants also shared their country’s traditional baked goods which Avery and her family look forward to making.         _______________________________________________________

Universities as Partners in Learning Cities
Review of GLF Webinar 9 November  2021

The aim of this Webinar was to explore the role of universities as a partner in learning cities and learning communities in advancing sustainable development. A big thank you to facilitators and speakers:

• Dr Leone Wheeler, Hon. CEO Australian Learning Communities Network (ALCN) and Associate in the School of Global, Urban and Social Studies at RMIT University and Board Member of PASCAL International Observatory.
• Jose Roberto (Robbie) Guevara is an Associate Professor in International Development at RMIT's School of Global, Urban and Social Studies and President of the International Council of Adult Education (ICAE).
• Lara Pugh, Project Leader Learning City, Wollongong City Council
• Vi Bui is a student RMIT and completing an internship with the ALCN and Wyndham Learning Community in Greater Melbourne.
• Professor Bruce Wilson, Director of the EU Centre in the School of Global, Urban and Social Studies at RMIT University.
• Idowu Biao is a Professor of Lifelong Learning at the Université d’Abomey Calavi (UAC), Benin.
• Dr Mary Mahoney, Director of Access and Lifelong Learning, University of Wolverhampton.
• Mark Norman is the Wollongong City Libraries Manager at Wollongong City Council.
• Dr Belinda Gibbons is Deputy Associate Dean Education for the Faculty of Business & Law at the University of Wollongong

Some key takeaway messages:

Learning:

• Learning is at the heart of economic and civic development and we should get back to the notion of learning as a 'public good'.

• Establishing effective working relationships with universities, or with any partner, in a learning community, region or city is a two-way demystifying process.
• A patchwork quilt was used as an analogy for describing the complex partnerships and activities in a learning community, region or city.
• The role of the ‘broker’ is critical to university-learning city/community/region partnerships – their role is to forge and manage partnerships and provide the framework/governance for engagement.
• Transparency is key: establish a shared purpose and shared value.
• Take a “Human Library” approach where collaborations start with people connecting with each other. People + purpose = partnership.

• Whilst universities, local Councils, community groups, organisations and businesses may use different languages and reward systems, the Sustainable Development Goals can be used as a ‘common language’ for developing shared agendas, mutually-beneficial activities and evaluation tools.
• The SDGs could also be viewed as a ‘common lens’ for effective partnerships.

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Diane Tabbagh and Jac Torres-Gomez and I were thrilled to work with Vi as our RMIT. University intern for semester two this year.  Vi presented to the ALCN Executive meeting on 19 November where she reflected on the opportunities and challenges of working on a range of projects for us. The projects included the Wyndham Learning Festival and the Global Learning Festival.  Vi quickly became another member of our virtual team and assisted with a range of tasks, including collecting Most Significant Change Stories for both festivals; assisting with the Collective Impact Assessment Tool (CIAT); providing facilitation support to the GLF webinar on Universities as Partners in Learning Cities, and contributing to the final evaluation report on the Global Learning Festival. Vi said her challenges included time management and maintaining sustainable relationships via video meetings. We felt Vi handled these challenges well and we wish her well in her future career.

_______________________________________________________News from the Networks

Brimbank City Council 
Connecting Communities - Employment Pathway Support Online Showcase











During the recent Melbourne lockdowns, Brimbank City Council and The Department of Education teamed up to run a series of online events to support parents of young people with diverse needs to make a smooth transition into the world of work. The Parents as Career Transition Support (PACTS) workshops focused on setting parents up with information and approaches to become their child’s career coach, as well as providing information about pathways and job search techniques.
 
On November 3, Brimbank City Council and The Department of Education teamed up again to host Connecting Communities: Employment Pathways Support Online Showcase featuring local service providers including the Western Bulldogs Community Foundation, Headspace and the Brimbank Learning Futures Jobs Advocates.  The showcase gave community members direct access to local employment support services that could help take them to the next step in their career journey. Since the event, a number of community members have touched base with providers to start the process of getting the individual support they need to find meaningful employment. Brimbank City Council and The Department of Education hope to run the event again in 2022 to link more people to the great services on offer in the west.

For further information about learning in Brimbank read their quarterly newsletter - Celebrating Learning here.

Hume Learning Community

Professor Bruce Wilson, Director of the EU Centre, RMIT University, and George Osborne, Manager Economic Development, Hume City Council, held an informal gathering fittingly at the Hume Global Learning Centre, to remember the life and work of Dr Ken Thompson, Chair of the Hume Learning Community and former Chair of the Hume Global Learning Village. Friends of Ken spoke movingly about how much he had impacted their lives, and how he was always so positive in encouraging the lifelong learning work they were engaged in.  Next year Bruce will call together friends of Ken to work on a legacy to remember his accomplishments.

Melton City Council
Adam Josifovski, Coordinator Community Activation & Learning, and Silvia Velez, Lifelong Learning Project Officer, Melton City Council have been conducting consultations with stakeholders for the future Learning City Strategy 2022-2025. These consultations will conclude in the coming months. Also, planning is underway for a Melton Lifelong Learning Festival to be held in 2022 and Melton's contribution to the LearnWest Learning for Earning festival to be held in May 2022. Adam recently reviewed the Melton Learning YouTube channel which now contains 187 learning videos, with over 230,000 views.  

The work that Adam and the Melton Team undertook during Melbourne's lockdown this year was highlighted in the background paper to UNESCO's fifth international conference on learning cities (ICLC5 background document). -  From emergency to resilience: building health and resilient cities through learning. In particular, the Community Connector Hubs with a range of functions to support the residents during the pandemic, for example, food relief, financial and mental health counselling, care packages, targeted social connections, job readiness and digital connections. The Melton YouTube Video was also referred to.

Wollongong City Council 
Lara Pugh, Project Leader Learning City Wollongong City Libraries reports Wollongong City Libraries is driving a whole-of-Council, city-wide project to establish Wollongong as a UNESCO learning city by 2024. The Learning City Project is made up of three phases over a three-year period (illustrated in the figure below). At present, the Learning City Project is in Phase 1 where the priority is conducting internal engagement and establishing internal governance in order to gain political will and commitment.

Since June 2021, a Learning City Project Working Group (PWG) has been established with 20 lifelong learning stakeholders from across Council to develop a more coordinated approach to the design, promotion, delivery and evaluation of Wollongong City Councils’ community education events, programs, activities and resources. Over six workshops (June-December 2021), the PWG have drafted a shared definition, vision and goals for our learning city; a map of Council’s lifelong learning assets and some action items for an internally-facing action plan for 2022-24. The Project leader Learning City has also been working independently to deliver briefing sessions on the project with the General Manager and 16 Divisional Management Teams across the organisation, seeking input on the strategic direction of the project.

In the first half of 2022, the remaining four PWG workshops will focus on the development of a shared evaluation framework and community engagement plan for Phase 2 – External engagement, governance and commitment; we will also finalise and seek endorsement for the Learning City Project Phase 1 Action Plan 2022-24 from Senior Management Teams and the Executive Management Committee, and deliver a briefing to Councillors in May 2022.














Another significant outcome for the Learning City Project over the past three months relates to one key objective in Phase 1 of the project to ‘Agree upon the ways in which Wollongong will celebrate learning (a requirement of the UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning)...’. In November 2021, Wollongong City Council actively participated in the 2021 Global Learning Festival (GLF) 8-11 November co-led by Melton and Wyndham City Councils. The key findings drawn in the evaluation report are summarised here:

• Our contribution to the GLF increased significantly in 2021, with eight events hosted online ‘live’ in 2021 compared to two pre-recorded webinars submitted in 2020.
• Wollongong’s involvement in the GLF was promoted via numerous Council channels including two media releases, a webpage, an article on The Hub and posts on relevant Council Facebook pages. In addition, the UOW promoted Wollongong-based events via the Vice Chancellor’s weekly email update.
• The Project Leader Learning City brokered and managed the logistics for four of the eight Wollongong-based events, with 194 registrations and 114 attendees. Feedback from stakeholders involved in these events was overwhelmingly positive though there are areas for improvement.
• Council’s involvement in the festival has forged relationships locally, nationally and internationally with Green Connect, the University of Wollongong, Beyond Empathy, ECTARC Early Childhood Services and Training, RMIT University, Wyndham City Council, UMass Lowell (United States), Wolverhampton Learning Region (UK), and the PASCAL Observatory’s Learning Cities Network.

Gaining experience in hosting learning events and establishing effective working relationships locally, nationally and across the globe stands us in good stead to design and deliver cross-sector lifelong learning initiatives and events through the Learning City Project in 2022 and beyond.

Wyndham City Council 
Wyndham Case Study on Education for Sustainable Development Published in an International UNESCO Publication

Council's case study on Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) has recently been published in a UNESCO publication.

The Learning Community team worked with Council’s Resilience & Waste Education team in the Climate Futures Office, to showcase globally the incredible work Council and the local community are doing in this space, and to inspire others to take a focus on ESD and the sustainable development goals for true, intergenerational change.

The publication was launched online (https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000379535 ) at the Fifth International Conference on Learning Cities. This publication was promoted in almost every session of the Global Network of Learning Cities conference in late October.

This ties into Action 12 of the 2018-2023 LCS.

Other presentations:

• Diane Tabbagh, Coordinator Learning Community, Libraries and Community Learning, Wyndham City Council, and Chair of the ALCN,
  was invited to present on learning cities at the Harvard Kennedy School  (HKS) Alumni Association Leadership Breakfast Meeting. The topic was the Challenges and Strategies in Developing Networks of Individuals and Organizations for a Common Purpose. (7 December 2021)
• Diane also presented Wyndham as a case study at the Asian Development Bank and UNESCO Institute of Lifelong Learning Webinar entitled Lifelong Learning, Learning Cities and Smart Cities.
• Jac Gomez-Torres, Learning Community Officer, Libraries and Community Learning, Wyndham City Council, and Ava Ter, our fabulous RMIT intern student from Semester 1, were invited to speak online about Empathy Partnerships at the Get Involved 'Discuss It' Sessions at 2021 WISE Summit which is based in Doha, Qatar and online (7-9 December 2021).
  
  
   

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News about Learning Cities from UNESCO UIL

The 5th UNESCO International Conference on Learning Cities, from 27 to 30 October 2021

This fifth international conference, hosted by Yeonsu (Republic of Korea), produced many outcomes, publications and presentations to guide the learning city movement going forward. I recommend you take the time to read the documents and listen to the presentations here. In particular:

It was good to see our Australian UNESCO learning cities - Melton and Wyndham - reflected as case studies in the documents and of course as reported in our October newsletter Wyndham was one of ten cities to win a UNESCO Learning City Award.

Reading of the Month

For further information contact:

Dr. Leone Wheeler
Hon. CEO, Australian Learning Communities

Mobile: 0456 038 236.  Email: [email protected]
ALCN website www.alcn.com.au
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