The main highlights for me on this day were:
- Seeing my AONTAS colleague Ben being elected on to the board of EAEA
- Participating in a workshop themed ‘Access and Outreach’ where I particularly enjoyed listening to the perspectives from Portugal and Greece in terms of access to courses for adults. The workshop was hosted by Niamh O’Reilly and I was invited to co-facilitate a group discussion which was informative
- Meeting Alex Stevenson from the UK who is an advocate for adult education. I found his views on life skills for adults interesting. Alex was also elected to the Board of the EAEA alongside Ben. The day culminated in the Grundtvig Awards ceremony and dinner. Liz Waters, former AONTAS Director was recognised and celebrated as part the ceremony and Ben collected her award on her behalf
Day 2: Thursday, 27th June
I registered for Day 2 and took my place in the main hall. The standard of the speakers and discussion was excellent. Highlights of the day included:
- Listening to a presentation by Lene Rachael Andersen, acclaimed author of the book The Nordic Secret
- Meeting Gina Ebner, Secretary-General of the EAEA. I also really enjoyed listening to her presentation on life skills in practice
- There was a big emphasis on group discussion with a questions and answers session and an upbeat mood to the conference
In Conclusion
By attending this EAEA event as an adult learner from Ireland I gained a greater understanding of the movement happening across Europe to promote and strengthen adult education. I gained valuable experience taking part in the workshop and group discussion. I relished the opportunity to discuss my own experiences as an adult learner in an Irish context. I can safely say that I made some friends in the wider adult education community from my participation in the conference. Overall, it was a positive and enriching learning experience and time well spent.
As an EU Member State, Ireland has access to EU funding programmes like Erasmus+ which support people to acquire new work skills, contributing to active citizenship, and personal development. Such programmes allow AONTAS to support our members to promote and profile the work of adult learning in Ireland. It also provides our members with an opportunity to learn from our EU neighbours and bring new ideas back to Ireland.
For more information on this project please contact Dearbháil Lawless, EU Projects Officer at: dlawless@aontas.com
