Event: A Window to the World: AONTAS Adult Education Summit 2023
Venue: Aviva Stadium, Lansdowne Road, Dublin 4
Date: Wednesday, 15th November 2023
Time: 10.00am to 4.00pm (9am registration)
Registration for the Summit is now full.
About the AONTAS Adult Education Summit
Our biggest event of the year is fast approaching! Join us to find out all the latest in adult learning from the island of Ireland and across Europe.
A Window to the World: AONTAS Adult Education Summit 2023 welcomes anyone with an interest in adult learning to join us for new perspectives on adult and community education.
Here are some of the things we’ll do at the Summit:
- offer fantastic learning opportunities through a range of workshops on Learner Voice, sustainable development, and new approaches and leadership in Further Education and Training.
- present findings and recommendations from our new evidence-based research at AONTAS, through our “Learners’ Voices Across Ireland” report
- demonstrate the importance of robust research in Further Education and Training to influence policy and shape the future of adult learning.
- share new ideas and findings from our European work in adult learning and, as it draws to a close, reflect on the current programme under the New European Agenda for Adult Learning (NEAAL)
- offer an opportunity for adult learners, educators, policymakers, and academics to come together and discuss the current adult learning environment and to share best practice.
- show the value and importance of adult learning for Irish society and communities.
Guest Speakers
We are excited to welcome Simon Harris TD, Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation, and Science to speak at the Summit.
We are also absolutely delighted to announce Professor Kathleen Lynch as our Keynote Speaker. Kathleen is an academic and an activist. Her work is guided by the belief that the purpose of scholarship and research is not just to understand the world but to change it for the good of all humanity.
Our other speakers and guests on the will include educators and leaders in the charity sector from the Republic of Ireland, Northern Ireland, and Europe. Adult leaders will also have a leading role in the event, and we’ll hear from the National Gallery of Ireland about the power of art and creativity in adult learning. More details to follow!
Community Education Exhibitors Partner Showcase
This showcase will highlight and celebrate our fantastic members working in community education, who change people’s lives every day through all different kinds of learning in local communities.
Running throughout the day, the showcase will demonstrate the variety, depth, and richness of work that community education organisations do and the changes their work brings about for learners and their communities.
The organisations exhibiting their work at stands on the day, with visual and documented evidence of their impact.
The exhibitors are:
- National Learning Network
- Community After Schools Project (CASPr)
- Exchange House Ireland National Traveller Service
- Irishwomen Development Partnership
- Irish Wheelchair Association Ballycanew
- Near Media Co-op
- Roscommon Women’s Network (RWN)
- Longford Women’s Link
- Dublin Simon Community-Client Development
- The Acorn Project
We’ll be encouraging Summit attendees to visit it in the morning and during breaks. You’ll be able to meet learners and community educators face-to-face, learn about their work, make connections, and better understand the impact of community education.
Workshops
We will have four simultaneous workshops in the afternoon.
Listening to Learners’ Voices Across Ireland: Challenges and Solutions for FET Learners
This is a space for Education and Training Board staff to share best practice for some of the important challenges that emerged from AONTAS research through the National FET Learner Forum. Attendees will learn about solutions that you can use in your own work, to better support adult learners.
Learner Voice as a Catalyst for Change
This interactive workshop will explore the profound significance of Learner Voice in shaping the future of adult education and how it can be a catalyst for positive change in our society. The workshop will consider strategies and approaches for ensuring that learners’ perspectives and recommendations are not only heard but actively considered and integrated into decision-making processes. This workshop is a platform for learners to share their experiences, with insights from our Learners as Leaders programme, showing exactly why every learner’s voice matters.
Adult Learning and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): How Can Adult and Community Education Providers Contribute?
This workshop will explore how adult Learning and the SDGs are linked, and highlight tools available for adult and community education practitioners across the island of Ireland. The SDGs are an urgent call by all countries in a global partnership for collective action relating to inequality and climate change. AONTAS are an appointed SDG Champion with a particular focus on Goal 4, ensuring inclusive and equitable quality education and promoting lifelong learning opportunities for all. Participants will learn about the benefits of starting an SDG programme with adult learners.
Creative Arts and Adult Learning: What’s It All About? In Partnership with the National Gallery of Ireland
The workshop, given by the National Gallery of Ireland, explores the benefits of using the creative arts when working with learners in the classroom. We’ll explore how to incorporate art and creativity in class, and where adult learning practitioners can find resources. How can art and creativity benefit learners as they develop confidence and empathy, and gain new knowledge and skills? Join us to find out.
For more information on this event please contact our Communications Team at: comms@aontas.com
