The Summit will bring together international and national speakers, learners, policy makers and adult and community education providers to explore the future of lifelong learning in Ireland. It will be an opportunity to reflect on the field of adult learning over the last 50 years and look towards its role in addressing the critical issues that society now faces, from climate change to challenges facing our democracy. In addition, we will launch a new network of adult learning advocacy organisations from across Ireland, N Ireland, Scotland, Wales and England.
The Lifelong Learning Summit will:
- Highlight the wide range of benefits of adult and community education
- Explore how we can work collaboratively to build more inclusive and sustainable societies
- Showcase examples of best practice in adult and community education
- Explore the role of lifelong learning in building strong democracies and increasing civic engagement
Speakers and Contributors Include:
- Keynote Address: Lene Rachel Andersen, Author of 'The Nordic Secret'
- Special Guest Speaker: Seán Ó Foghlú, Secretary General, Department of Education and Skills
- Adult learners from across the field of lifelong learning
- Una Buckley, Adult Learner Representative, National FET Learner Forum
- Andrew Brownlee, Chief Executive, SOLAS
- Professor Tom Collins, Chair of the National Water Forum
- Dr Bríd Connolly, Adult and Community Education, Lecturer, Maynooth University
- Dr Koen DePryck, University of Brussels
- Dr Leah Dowdall, Head of Research, AONTAS
- Stephen Evans, Chief Executive, Learning and Work Institute, UK
- Tara Farrell, Chairperson AONTAS and Deputy CEO Longford Women’s Link (LWL)
- Dr Ted Fleming, Adjunct Associate Professor, Columbia University
- Dr Paula Flynn, Assistant Professor, Dublin City University
- Kevin Hanly, Adult Learner, Limerick College of Further Education and Training
- Alan Hand, Adult Learner Representative, National FET Learner Forum
- Jim McHarg, representing Scotland’s Learning Partnership
- Joy -Tendai Kangere, Adult Learner, UCD
- Patricia King, General Secretary, Irish Congress of Trade Unions
- Dr Peter Lavender, University of Warwick
- Moira Leydon, Assistant General Secretary, Association of Secondary Teachers (ASTI)
- David Mallows, Principal Teaching Fellow, UCL Institute of Education
- Betty Mengistu, Irish Aid fellow in UCD (2019-2020) and former Country Director, WaterAid, Ethiopia
- Colin Neilands, Communitus, Northern Ireland
- Dr Stephen O’Brien, Lecturer in the School of Education, University College Cork
- Niamh O’Reilly, CEO AONTAS
- Kairi Solmann, Adult Education Department, Ministry of Education and Research, Estonia
Click here for full agenda.