Shadow Report

By reading the contributions to the ICEA virtual seminar, I come to think of our discussions in the organisation 5 years ago. I had the opportunity to be a member of the Executive Board for a short period, and we met in Damascus in September 2000. There, I brought forward some of the “donors perspective” on the work of the ICAE. Since then, not many donors are left, but according to new decisions in Norway, there is hope for al least a three years sponsoring contract following money from NORAD.

I repeat some of my points from then: If I were a donor, what’s in it (the ICAE) for me? For us? How does and how could the ICAE correspond to the national strategies for development and development aid, taking education into account as a crucial tool? This questions have been asked, because the donors themselves and the agencies they are representing also have their own knowledge and insight about education and enlightenment as tools for development, as tools for spreading basic skills to the people in need.

In the Nordic tradition for popular enlightenment (liberal adult learning), we have learned the importance of tight links between people’s movement for liberation and emancipation on the one hand, and the rice of democracy and liberal adult education on the other. This work, and this tradition, is no doubt one of the reasons for the egalitarian societies you’ll find in Scandinavia today.

Looking at ICAE from this “democratic and rich” and one of the so called “light minded” countries I can imagine why the global network for adult learning in solidarity is important.
“From NGO to NGO” is one of the strategies for Norwegian development aid. Is it possible to run this aid without engaging Ministries? May be, but I can see here a fruit able cooperation with ICAE “in the middle”. I will try to give these thoughts an illustration: (please find attached chart)

In this way, I wish to see ICAE as a global network for advocacy and advice, an organisation linking NGOs and public authorities/states from different conditions together, a network for which the ”democratic structure” is not the most important, but an organisation filled with engaged people and individual experts willing to do some work for adult learning as a tool in the context of international solidarity.

I am very sorry that I for the time being am not able to contribute more to the virtual seminar. I have read many interesting pieces, and I am looking very much forward to Nairobi.

Sturla

Chart

Dear all,

As it happend last week, during the weekend several participants sent their inputs and contributions to our brainstorming.

So, before we move on to the programme of the third week, I would like to share with you a contribution that comes from Prakash Bhattarai of Nepal, IALLA 2005 graduate, who transmits the youth perspective that, in his own words, is the "potential force for social, economic and political transformation".

Later today we will send you another IALLA´s participant contribution.
Enjoy reading and we encourage you to start thinking at the same time in concrete proposals for the Assembly

Cecilia Fernandez
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Inputs by Prakash Bhattarai
"Youth Action Nepal"
IALLA II graduate

The Structure of ICAE from Youth Perspective

First of all I would like to say sorry for not actively taking part in the virtual seminars in the past days. I was away from Nepal for few days and was not able to read all thoughts and information posted in the virtual seminar. But now, I am here to write you my opinion after reading most of the opinions and ideas posted by different individuals and intellectuals to come with a concrete solution about the strategic structure of ICAE, not only to the promotion of adult learning initiative but also to carry global advocacy on right to education for all.

The first agenda that I would like to highlight here is to set up regional themes that ICAE would like to focus in specific regions. Every continent has different priorities to fight for global justice and of course there are commonalities on the issues that needs to be dealt from global perspective. But setting up regional theme is something like preparing a group of individuals and organisations within the region to work for the same cause and every regional initiatives ultimately force to the global agendas that are the part of ICAE's concern.

The second agenda that I would like stress here is to build up strong networking of like minded organisations, individuals and institutions particularly in the regional and also in the global level is vital one to implement the plan of action adopted by ICAE. I believe networking should not be limited only for joint action and the exchange of information but also for the support and solidarity to strengthen the capacity of emerging organisations engaged in youth and adult focused initiatives in the agendas adopted by ICAE for developing its strategy. I again would like to stress the importance of constructive regional network within the like minded group that can be an easier step to work in a comfortable way.

The third agenda regarding the involvement of young learners and their meaningful participation to promote the agenda of ICAE is also vital one. Thus ICAE also need to take initiative to work with youth led and youth focused organisation for encouraging their passionate of learning and obtain desired results. Young people should always regarded as productive and potential force for social, economic and political transformation, thus their active involvement in ICAE's initiative will definitely be positive step for achieving its goal and fighting for the new challenges confronted with us.

My fourth agenda to share with virtual seminar participant is to enhance the massive use of Information Communication and Technologies (ICT) in lifelong learning initiative is equally important to achieve the goal of ICAE in a meaningful way. ICAE's new strategy should also be focused on to the transformation of knowledge, skills and our agendas using alternative media that has been reached all over the world and accessible to the people.

I think ICAE needs to develop its future strategy deeply considering the abovementioned steps from a broader perspective and the expected result can be possible once we keep continue our present efforts and strengthen the present efforts in a constructive way. ICAE also needs to facilitate all the local initiatives who are in the close connection and who wish to be the well-wishers to accomplish its mission.

My comments from my experiences in JAPSE
by Yoko ARAI
IALLA graduate

My comments from my experiences in JAPSE Yoko ARAI

I am an executive member of JAPSE (Japan Association for Promoting Social Education. (for more information in English go to: http://homepage3.nifty.com/japse/english.html). I am currently involved in making contacts as part of the overseas affairs for voluntary work.

I appreciate this seminar very much because it enables us to participate in decision-making processes of ICAE activities. I want to use this opportunity not only for sharing my own opinions but also to generate more interests among our members of JAPSE and to encourage them to make the best use of the connection between international movements and other movements related to adult education in the broad sense and our national and grass roots movements.

I got permission from our executive committee to participate in this seminar as the contact person for overseas affairs of JAPSE. We put the welcome message from the Secretariat of ICAE translated into Japanese on our web site and encouraged our members to participate, although the time was very short and no one applied.
It is not easy to get the interest of our members to join international movements. This is so because all of our members -social education staff, learners, activists and researchers- are too busy dedicating their time voluntarily to domestic movements at both community and national levels.

This is the background of my comments. I am not good at English, in spite of my position at JAPSE. I could follow-up the discussion of this seminar, though not enough. Then I decided to share my comments, which are related to the contributions of Berni Brady and Hortencia Coronel.

1. We exchange experiences in both, practices and political movements in adult education fields (and if possible including children, community and education movements out of school)

1-1 About political movements
As an example, we now face the severe policy problems of changing our adult and community education system from public base to privatization by the outsourcing process of public adult education (social education) institutions in Japan. This weakens the freedom of practitioners in adult education (social education staff), and usually this also reduces the freedom of learners at community level in Japan.

We have had a lot of meetings with our members about this issue looking for ideas from the movements for policies that will help to overcome the problem. We also want to learn from the experiences of other movements out of our country and get together with other organizations that face the same problems for overcoming such problems in each country and in each community. We expect ICAE to run workshops related to this topic. Broadly,
I expect ICAE to assist so that such discussion about some political problems that each member organization confronts can take place.

1-2 About practices
We at JAPSE have had a national assembly to study about social education every year. This assembly has over 24 workshops which address a lot of social problems from an adult social education point of view. We also attend special workshop about periodical themes, like contradictions of decentralization policy, the changing problem of the Fundamental Law of Education and so on.
We also expect ICAE to organize two types of workshops: regular ones where the members of ICAE exchange ideas and experiences from every day practices, and special workshops for presenting periodical problems in order to wake-up consciousness in the various members from an international point of view.

2. Support the efforts for connecting international and local movements
I expect ICAE to organize workshops where we can contact persons in order to exchange experiences in both, methods and philosophies and make connections between international and domestic movements.
I also expect ICAE to encourage such contacts so that international information can reach all members. Through ICAE, working closely to their member organizations or other organizations in each country, this can happen by translating the experiences into several languages.

I am very nervous and worried about saying my opinion in English.
But I was happy that I could participate in IALLA 2004 and meet adult educators and researchers who are engaged in adult education movements from a lot of countries and meet the general secretary and other people from ICAE. In that IALLA I could get a feeling of solidarity.
I was also happy that I could meet literacy workers in Toronto in Canada. They have suffered political problems and have worked in bad and unstable conditions but they have tried to do research about their own practices for making them better. I feel that not just the political problems they suffered but also their passions and activities are similar to the ones form our members at JAPSE.

Such feeling encourages me to try to connect international movements and local movements, without giving up.

And finally, I expect ICAE to continue to work on that feeling of solidarity, for example by introducing in some way stories of adult educators.

Dear all,

We open today session 3 of the seminar, which was planned as a space for exchange of ideas and proposals for the ICAE World Assembly. We hope that you share your thoughts and suggestions that will constitute a starting point for our preparatory process towards Nairobi next January.

Session 3
Exchange of proposals on:
Definition of a “Slogan” for the Assembly

Thematic lines to be dealt with in depth at the Assembly.
Issues / work guidelines

Creation of commissions for the organization of the assembly

For those of you who are interested, ICAE Strategic Plan 2006-2008 is available at www.icae.org.uy. We think that the plan is also a useful tool for this exchange of ideas.

Thanks for your inputs!
Cecilia Fernández

Welcome to Session 3

ICAE World Assembly Proposal
Paul Belanger
ICAE President

In order to feed the debate on the program of the 2007 World Assembly of Adult Education, we propose four issues that could lead to four commissions leading to a plenary:

- Physical violence in public and private domains and cultural violence through fundamentalism, armed conflict, forced migration, human security and education for full and active citizenship,

- HIV, aids, health and discrimination: the right to learn to live and go on living in health and with dignity, the right not to be discriminated; Health For All goes hand in hand with Education For All.

- Struggle against poverty in an increasing world of social disparity; the right of basic community to define their future and the right of women and men to develop their capacity to organize themselves, taking into account intersectionality of identities,

- The urgency of sustainable popular awareness and capacity building in view of the risky physical environment in which we live and work. No sustainable development, no Kyoto+, no clean water for all without active participation and without alternative communication and participatory research

Dear all,

We share with you the paper sent by Fanny Gomez from REPEM – Colombia. Through this contribution she presents the problem of "Forced Displacement and its Consequences on People’s Education" as a topic to be included in the ICAE World Assembly.

Fanny sends us an excellent paper in which she explains the importance of working this theme and its consequences, and she refers to it based on the reality of Colombia. As part of the conditions that lead to displacement, the school has become “a war scenario where the right to education and the physical and psychological integrity of learners and educators is being affected”. She also says that as a result of this situation "...new educational needs arise mainly for the adult population..." Finally she makes a call to see the displacement as an opportunity to increase political and citizenship knowledge in a scenario where "education for peace becomes very important”.

Thanks again for all your contributions, your creativity and for sharing your experiences,
Cecilia Fernandez

Proposal for the World Assembly
Fanny Gómez
REPEM - Colombia

Forced Displacement and its Consequences on People’s Education

From the point of view of education, the problems of human mobility (migrations or internal displacements resulting from armed conflicts, political persecution and even human trafficking) present important challenges to social movements that struggle for education because, depending on the different cases, they either make educational processes difficult, or interrupt them, or they even make people lose the opportunity for education.

In Colombia, forced displacement of people due to armed conflict has serious consequences on the education of children, youth and adult men and women, who are victims of this situation. This is a grave humanitarian tragedy with social, political, economic, cultural and demographic implications, that is part of a traumatic process of capitalist development that promotes the re-structuring of agrarian property, and which is destroying lives, material goods and social nets; it is also modifying ways of understanding and behaving of almost 10% of the Colombian population. To this, one should add the displacement due to the eradication of illicit crops that has led to great mobilizations in the frontier zones.

(Since 1985 in Colombia which has a population of 44 million- three and a half million people have been displaced, 58% of them women, and 71% if we add children. From the total displaced population, 38% are indigenous and afro-descendent population. 89% of the municipalities in the country are constantly receiving or expelling displaced people. It is the most serious crisis in the world after Sudan and it has acquired a more dramatic character than what the situation was in Guatemala and El Salvador. The current government says that the numbers of people displaced have decreased because in December 2005 there were 205.000 people compared to 308.000 in December 2004. But this drop does not respond to an increase in the protection of the rights of those populations in risk of displacement but to a strategy to make the problem invisible by emplacement of these populations).

The educational expansion in Colombia, like in the majority of the Latin American countries, shows important advancements though yet insufficient to be able to talk about the full right to education from the point of view of access. This situation is worsened by armed conflict that seriously affects the provision of the service. When looking at the problem from an educational point of view one needs to analyze the situation in all the stages of the displacement, be it the previous stage, the exodus per se, or in the time of survival and reconstruction of a life-project; it must be done not just for the learners but also for the educators.

1.      Stage previous to the displacement: the school, a war scenario

Different reports show the serious violations of the right to education by the armed actors, against the civil population and the education workers. In many regions of the country (rural and urban) schools and community centers for adult training have become battle fields because the state and non-state armed actors use them as operation centers, trenches, camps and strategic locations for the implementation of psychological campaigns, for direct confrontation with the enemy, or as places for war training and for the recruitment and utilization of children and youth as informants. The occupation of schools, the threats, the arbitrary detentions of teachers, the disappearances, all impact on the population in various forms: interrupting educational cycles, closing down centers for the training of children and adults, generating absenteeism and drop-outs. In this way the right to education and the physical and psychological integrity of learners and educators is being affected.

2.      The displacement per se, an exodus that produces wandering multitudes

The population who lives in the middle of the crossed fire is forced to move and the educators are forced to abandon their leadership positions within communities and their rights to a dignified life, to health, security, freedom, work and housing is affected. Once the populations have been displaced, they suffer multiple discriminations and double exclusion: for the fact of being displaced and, in the majority of the cases, for being peasants, afro-descendents or indigenous. These discriminations are worsened by the new and greater responsibilities that the loss of family members in many cases the head of the household- and the braking down of their support networks imply.

The educational impacts can take place like this:

a)      From the moment of destruction and uprooting one can find different elements in, for example, the reasons that lead men and women into displacement: men flee from threats, women refer to killings and the protection of their children as the cause. Breaking down of relationships and loses affect strongly women who live constrained to primary domestic relations (taking care of the family and of their vegetable gardens). Violence catches them by surprise due to their limited relation to the public world; this happens particularly to peasant women who are brought up in a culture of strict separation between the feminine and the masculine, submissive to men, socially and geographically isolated, because the relations with the market and the social institutions belong to men (first the father, then the husband and later the eldest son). The uprooting in this world means the destruction of the social identity which produces the feeling of going adrift (particularly for women) and the loss of socio-emotional support that is normally provided by the education institutions of the community.

b)      From the point of view of reconstruction, it is amazing to see the strength of women to take care of the family survival and the reconstruction of their lives and social bonds. Women, who are widows, heads of households, with no other belongings other than their children, see them as their only reason to overcome the tragedy. For that reason they have more abilities and resources in order to find survival mechanisms in the informal world because they are willing to work in precarious conditions. In any case, their dedication to domestic tasks does not imply a strong break-away from their ordinary tasks when they arrive in the city. Men, though, lose their status as providers, because at least for some time official entities will respond to this need and also their work integration is slower because the work done in the farming field is of little use in the urban environment. It is very clear that new educational needs arise, mainly for the adult population who finds work different than the domestic service and must acquire skills in order to understand the worlds of the factory, the city and the urban arrangements. They also need knowledge of the legal framework -which protects displaced populations- and skills in order to demand for their rights and be able to organize around their demands and the full exercise of their citizenship. In this stage, the relationship with training centers that provide psychological and socio-emotional support is very important.

c)      With respect to the return, women prefer urban integration instead of a return with no guarantee for personal security, no access to employment and no possibility for land ownership, and that at the same time makes them revive painful moments. This integration requires an affirmation of their new identity in the new environment and for that what is key is that they participate in groups and community organizations from which they must learn about.

d)      In relation to the support from social and family networks, women are more practical and do not waste time in bureaucratic paper work, while men are more dependent on this type of support. This is so because women adapt better to situations of change, they concentrate on quotidian tasks and have more opportunities in the informal sector.

e)      Facing the condition of being displaced, men and women experience similarly the associated stigma, the distrust in the relationships, the ambiguous longing for their place of origin and the difficulties for adapting into an environment that was not freely chosen. But they experience this in different environments (women in community and in solidarity with other women and men in working and institutional environments).

The displacement, though, can be the opportunity for this population to increase their political and citizenship knowledge. It will depend on whether they behave as victims or as citizens with proposals, aware of their rights and in charge of searching for solutions for their problems. In Colombia we find exemplary processes from displaced populations where strength, creativity, commitment and management capacity has contributed to re-create life and re-build communities which otherwise would have not had the opportunity and have generated experiences of civic resistance such as the “communities of peace”; we also find life organizational processes where every person is involved and fulfills the rules of being neutral and transparent, where women and men have generated return possibilities, where the civil population has developed defense mechanisms taht are not violent and a life option that is based on values of peace. This is a scenario where “education for peace” becomes very important.

Proposal for the World Assembly
by Nazir Ahmad Ghazi
Executive Director of GODH (Grass-root Organization for Human Development)
IALLA graduate

Hi everyone,

Greeting from “GODH” Lahore-Pakistan

First of all sorry for so late, because we were busy due to World Social Forum at Karachi-Pakistan. Actually, we were intended to put our suggestions earlier.

I would like to thank International Council for Adult Education (ICAE) for preparatory seminar in connection with world Assembly in January 2007 at Nairobi that is really a chance of sharing and learning from each other experiences. Their Global Network will enrich the debate to stop discrimination, inequalities, and violence of basic rights and to achieve successfully Millennium Development Goal (MDG).

1st and 2nd week of brainstorming prove to be fruitful one and we hope that 3rd week will also be good. Which will lead towards the promotion of life long adult learning initiatives.
So many suggestions have been given but I would also suggest here few more suggestions short.

Suggestions:

- This is really a chance to raise the voice for the Human Rights Education. As, our “GODH” (Grass-root Organization for Human Development) is working for the Health and Education of Gypsies. The participation of such people will enhance the overall impact of World Assembly.

- As for as the venue of the program, it should be a center place, where maximum participation may be ensured.

- There is also a dire need to sensitize people regarding peace and tolerance which is more important now a days.

- There should be a regional forum at regional level so that they can put their suggestions for World Assembly on broader basis.

- There should also be a campaign of World Assembly in collaboration with United Nation institutions. So that there awareness may be maximize and the target may be achieved.

It was the short descriptions on behalf of “GODH”.
Best Regards,
Nazir Ahmad Ghazi

Proposal for the World Assembly by Ana Agostino

GEO/ICAE

Dear all,

after a very interesting exchange of experiences and proposals, the seminar gives us this week the opportunity to reflect on which thematic lines we

would like to deal with at the Assembly, which are the issues that we want to include and that will guide the discussions.

Looking at what came out of the seminar but mainly at the experience from GEO throughout the years, I would like to propose that we think of ways in

which the various issues and topics at the Assembly can be dealt with in a way that recognizes the intersectionality between them. I support Paul´s

proposal for considering the following themes (I am copying from his message):

- Physical violence in public and private domains and cultural violence through fundamentalism, armed conflict, forced migration, human security and

education for full and active citizenship,

- HIV, aids, health and discrimination: the right to learn to live and go on living in health and with dignity, the right not to be discriminated; Health

For All goes hand in hand with Education For All.

- Struggle against poverty in an increasing world of social disparity; the right of basic community to define their future and the right of women and

men to develop their capacity to organize themselves, taking into account intersectionality of identities,

Looking at these topics, it is clear that each of them contains several elements that interlink: when looking at violence, or displacement,

HIV/AIDS, poverty, etc. we know that women are affected differently, that they also play a different role in the struggle against these malaises. But

we also know that race and ethnicity, as well as sexual orientation, or ability, and even income will have an impact in the ways people live and

manage to overcome these realities.

Therefore, it would be important to think of ways in which at the Assembly we do not compartimentalise these issues but address them in ways that

respect their holistic character. If we manage to do that at the Assembly, we are already putting into practice what we would like formal and non-

formal education to do. We have several months ahead of us to debate this issue and to share the experiences that each of you might have in this

respect.

I would also like to add another topic which we have worked at length at GEO: education for inclusion.

Paul mentions this in his proposal but I think it should be highlighted as a central one that encompasses the various concerns mentioned above.

Thanks for the seminar and for the opportunity of sharing these suggestions.

Greetings,

Ana Agostino

GEO/ICAE

Proposal for the World Assembly by Gigi Francisco
DAWN Southeast Asia

Dear Friends,
This is Gigi Francisco, from DAWN-southeast Asia. I want to say that I have gained much from the ongoign discussion and would like, in turn, to share my thoughts for your consideration in the planning of the world assembly.

I would like to propose that we examine education within emergent "hybridized discursive spaces". What possibilties do these open up for us? What are risks? How are these spaces transforming our ways? How do we wish to engage with them?

I would also like us to reflect on education in terms of the ongoing challenge to secular states and rights. Similar to the above, we have to ask ourselves where are we in relation to some disturbing trends that we see around us - the confusion on and inability to act toward religious extremism and how its discourse is linked to a myriad of class, ethnicity, and imperial/colonized power dichotomies and hierarchies? How do we address the spread of ultraconservative and fundamentalist notions within secular states? within social movements that are struggling for social inclusion based on assertion of social rights?

Finally, what new risks are there in the globalization of education - in relation to internationally determined targets on education as a global public good or of internationally determiend standards in training; in relation to the corporatization and cross-border trading of education through "borderless education and MODE 4 type of educational services; in relation to a capabilities-based and rights-based approach to examining and addressing poverty?

I very definitely agree that gender ought to be across-cutting theme but would also like to propose that a gender caucus like the GEO put up a discussion space prior to or within the assembly.

cheers, gigi

Inputs by Babacar Diop Buuba
Senegal - Vice President for ICAE in Africa Region

Dear colleagues,

From Nairobi, where I am together with a delegation from ICAE, I want to send congratulations for the quality of the debates and the diversity of the
participants.

I want to highligth the following points:
- the first one has to do with the origen of the networks, their role, ways of operating, leadership and the challenges posed by this type of structures.
- the second one relates with the criteria for evaluating achievements and results.

All this leads me to suggest one theme: education for new citizenship and as subthemes, partnerships in education and systems of dialogue.
A bientot
...................................................................

Dear all,

Ana´s inputs included yesterday in the seminar have motivated several friends from GEO, Gender and education office of ICAE, to participate sending comments, suggestions and areas to be highligthed from a gender perspective at the World Assembly.

We are sending their comments in the order they arrived : Marta Benavides from El Salvador, Darlene Clover from Canada, and Joyce Satlker from New Zealand.

Many thanks for all your inputs.
Cecilia Fernandez

Inputs by Marta Benavides
El Salvador - GEO Team

saludos... I think it is important to make decisions on the themes.
We are working on global citizenship and planetary citizenship. On the first, we look at the key issues that are impacting on global society and from our popular education perspective we bring light that shows in practical ways our gender and inclusive perspectives (race, gender, sexual orientation, etc.) to contibute in the creation of the new world order that we talk about.

So gender perspective is not just the inclusion of "strict" gender aspects, but the spirit of that understanding, our more integrating, broadness and yet deeper perspectives, that result in peace, real security, the health of the planet.

We work on planetary citizenship and the aspects of global common goods, and not so much on global comon bads. So the issue of poverty linked to water as a human right, hiv/aids as prevention, same as sanitation, and natural disaster prevention, Kyoto and energy, etc!... We have found that very little work is carried out from women/feminist on planetary citizenship, though women-peace and
sustainable development have been directly linked for a good while, and women are affected negatively in these aspects. Gender perspective calls us to have this global, integrated vision.
Aprecio, Marta --El Salvador

Inputs by Darlene Clover
Canada - GEO Team

To add to what Marta is saying, UNESCO won a landmark decision a few months ago to keep "Culture" out from under 'auspices' of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), exactly the opposite of what happened with the environment (which is now a 'trade' issue and therefore, can never be a 'human rights' issue). I think that cultural democracy and diversity is a key area that connects with human rights and
planetary health.
Darlene

Inputs by Joyce Stalker
New Zealand - GEO Team

I suggest that the themes be named in more pro-active terms.

So that the theme 'Education and poverty,' would become 'Educational strategies to eradicate poverty.'

It is a small change but might focus the time and energy from discussion and exchange of information to creation and strengthening of strategies to resolve the issue.
Cheers Joyce

Hi everybody,

We are sending the information received from Budd Hall, Canada, on the First World Assembly of Adult Education that took place in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania in June of 1976.
He suggests the idea of a joint event for the 30th Anniversary Conference and "to look at the original ICAE Design for Action and see what has been accomplished, what remains to be done and what the new priorities for the global adult education movement might be".

We will continue sending today those proposals received within the next hours, and we would like to encourage all of you to send any last-minute suggestions you might have, today or during the weekend, as we will be closing the seminar next Monday.

Nonetheless, ICAE preparatory process will continue, so we have plenty of time to incorporate new ideas for the World Assembly.

Cecilia Fernandez

******************

Proposal for the World Assembly by Budd Hall

I am continuing to enjoy the virtual seminar. I wanted to share an idea for a possible event which I have discussed in very preliminary ways with the ICAE Secretary-General and Vice-President for Africa.
It is an idea which may happen or may not, it is not clear yet, but I would like to share it.

As some of you would know the First World Assembly of Adult Education (called International Conference on Adult Education and International Development) took place in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania in June of 1976.
There were about 600 people from 87 countries. Mwalimu Julius Nyerere gave a key note. Paulo Freire was there. Lucille Mair, the great Jamaican Feminist historian was there; Sise Ben Mady of the Senegalese Animation Sociale movement; Majid Rahnema one of the authors of the original Learning to Be report and of course J. Roby Kidd, the ICAE founder and Sec-General; Malcolm Adesheshiah the ICAE President from India; Chris Duke and many many others.

The Institute for Adult Education in Dar es Salaam was the local organizing force behind this conference. I was the conference secretary for that event. One month ago, the Director of the Institute of Adult Education in Dar es Salaam wrote to me to say that the Tanzanian adult education movement would like to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the 1976 ICAE meeting.

They originally have suggested June of 2007, but I have been in touch with the ICAE Executive to see if it might not be better to do it in conjunction with the Nairobi next World Assembly. We do not know if the Tanzanian authorities will agree, but this is an interesting idea.

The First world assembly produced a Design for Action 30 years ago. One idea would be for those who take part in the 30th Anniversary Conference to look at the original ICAE Design for Action and see what has been accomplished, what remains to be done and what the new priorities for the global adult education movement might be.

As I say, we may not be able to organize this, but there is considerable informal interest in celebrating this anniversary and re-connecting the Tanzanian adult education movement to the vibrant and exciting ICAE that first came together in a major way in Dar es Salaam so many years ago.

Reactions would be welcome to myself, the ICAE leadership team and the Tanzanian Institute of Adult Education

Thanks, Budd Hall

Dear all,

We’ve just received the first proposal on the name for the World Assembly. Thanks Sturla for starting this process!
Is anyone else willing to send suggestions?
Cecilia Fernandez
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Proposal for the World Assembly by Sturla Bjerkaker,
Norwegian Association for Adult Learning
member of ICAE Finance Committee

Dear colleagues,

I have as many of you also enjoyed the virtual seminar, but it has also irritated me (in the sense that I have not had the time to respond to all I could wish to respond to&). But now we are looking forward to a new future for our common global network, so far called ICAE& May be a new name also could bring new perspectives and new enthusiasm into the work? What about Global Network for Adult Learning, or International Network for Adult Learning (INAL)??

This might not be the most important issue. What should the Nairobi Conference focus on? For me, I find it most important to focus on how lifelong learning/adult learning could contribute to fight against poverty, against prejudice and for justice, public health, literacy, gender equity etc we all agree about this, I presume.

But how? With what weapons should the struggle continue? The answer is: Not with weapons (we should not take our metaphors from the war industry, too many do!).

Our tool is DIALOGUE. Without dialogue and openness, no justice, no cross cultural solutions, no peace could come. We should not spread our tasks to too many fields and we should not bring forward too many tools for too many areas. Our case is liberal and emancipatory adult learning and our tools are the NGOs, the voluntary movements and enthusiasts, the democratic, experienced and dialogue based learning in i.e. Study Circles.

Therefore, short and to the point, I think the core issue and the slogan for our coming assembly should be DIALOGUE. And may be if a sub title is needed: LEARNING DEMOCRATICALY FOR JUSTICE, GENDER AND CITIZENSHIP.

Sturla Bjerkaker