Building a Grassroots Learner Voice: report from the ALFI meeting on October 26th

Posted on November 04, 2011 at 12:07 PM

The 2nd Adult Learners' Forum of Ireland (ALFI) meeting took place on October 26th in the Ashling Hotel, and despite the horrendous weather of the previous days, fifty learners from across the country gathered to discuss and hear about Local Adult Learner Forums.

A full report of the day will be made available and put on the ALFI section of the AONTAS website in due course, but here are some of the details of how the day unfolded.

Participants were welcomed by MC for the morning, Learner Ambassador for Ireland, Una Buckley, who reminded us all of the power of adult and community education to make dreams come true. Berni Brady, Director of AONTAS, provided the background of ALFI and the importance of Adult Learners having their voice heard. Damien Walshe, Learning Advocacy Officer with AONTAS introduced the AONTAS toolkit for developing Local Adult Learner Forums.

How Local Adult Learner Forums work

The two main inputs for the morning session came from real-life experience of the how Adult Learner Forums work and what they do. Aishling Ryan from the Limerick City Adult Learners' Forum spoke on how as a forum they came together, how they work, what they have done and their plans for the future. Aishling gave invaluable advice to other Adult Learners on what being in a Learner Forum means, the benefits and also the challenges.

John Gates, one of the founders of the Global Learners' Network, spoke about the development of Learner Forums in Wales, focussing on the "Nine Steps for Wales", from the individual returning to education, to becoming an advocate for Adult and Community Education, right up to participation at the Global Adult Learners' Network.

In response to the inputs, Learners were asked to post a word than captured how they felt: a huge majority of responses focused on feeling "inspired" and "motivated" with a lot of Learners energised by the inputs. Discussions among participants then looked at what steps they could take to make Local Adult Learner Forums a reality and what supports they would need from AONTAS, and these will give plenty of food for thought for the future of ALFI.

Launching the AONTAS toolkit on Local Adult Learner Forums

John Lonergan, former Governor of Mountjoy Prison, officially launched "Hearing the Adult Learner Voice: A Toolkit for creating a Local Adult Learner Forum" and delivered the keynote address, delighting participants with his input on the role of education and the power of positive thinking in bringing about change in society.

After the event, we asked three Adult Learners (Andy Kinsella, Michelle Mitchell and Una Buckley) to share with us their experience of the day, which we recorded as a short video clip (see the video clip above). For those who couldn't make the day, we hope their reflections give some idea of the energy and enthusiasm generated on the day- with plenty more work identified for ALFI over the next few months.

Thanks to all Adult Learners who attended and participated for their commitment and enthusiasm for Learner Forums- the momentum generated on the day gives plenty of scope for the development of Local Adult Learner Forums and the ALFI over the course of the next few months.

For more information on ALFI, the AONTAS toolkit "Hearing the Adult Learner Voice: A Toolkit for creating a Local Adult Learner Forum" and Adult Learner Forums visit the ALFI section of the AONTAS website

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