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VOICES RISING
YEAR IV - Nº169
February 17, 2006

content
1.- WSF 2006 KARACHI WILL TAKE PLACE FROM MARCH 24TH TO 29TH, 2006
2.-
SAVING ADULT LEARNING – CONFERENCE FROM NIACE
3.- LEARNING TO GET BACK TO WORK – NIACE CONFERENCE ON WELFARE REFORM

4.-
KNOW HOW CONFERENCE


1.-
WSF 2006 KARACHI WILL TAKE PLACE FROM MARCH 24TH TO 29TH, 2006

A new date has been defined for the polycentric WSF 2006 Karachi (Pakistan): it will take place from March 24th to 29th, 2006. All registrations for the event have been postponed to February 15th. Soon, press registration will also open. Below, you’ll find links for each type of registration. All forms are in English.

Activities:
http://www.wsf2006karachi.org/howtoreg.html
Organizations and delegates:
http://www.wsf2006karachi.org/registration/organizations.aspx
Individual participants:
http://www.wsf2006karachi.org/registration/individual.aspx
Volunteers:
http://www.wsf2006karachi.org/registration/volunteer.aspx

See also the event’s list of registered activities:
http://www.wsf2006karachi.org/registeredevents.html
………………………………………………………..
NUMBERS OF AMERICAS POLYCENTRIC WSF 2006 (CARACAS)

Approximately 80 thousand people registered in 2 thousand activities participated in the Americas World Social Forum 2006. Here you will also find more WSF numbers.

Individual participants: 53,000
Delegates (linked to organizations): 19,000
Organizations: 2,500
Volunteers: 3,000
Journalists: 4,900
Activities: around 2,000
Activities by axle:
Axle 1- Power, politics and struggles for social emancipation : 493
Axle 2 - Imperial strategies and peoples’ resistance : 314
Axle 3 - Resources for and rights to life: alternatives to the predatory model of civilization : 272
Axle 4 - Diversities, identities and worldviews in movement : 132
Axle 5 - Work, exploitation and reproduction of life : 183
Axle 6 - Communication, culture and education: alternative and democratizing dynamics  : 389

Proposed activities by countries:
Brazil: 450
Venezuela: 400
Colombia: 150
United States: 115
Argentina: 120
Cuba: 65
Equador: 60
Canada: 40
France: 30
Spain: 25
Chile: 25

Cultural activities: 200

Delegations with more number of participants: Venezuela, Colombia and Brasil.


2.- SAVING ADULT LEARNING – CONFERENCE FROM NIACE

National Institute of Adult Continuing Education
www.niace.org.uk

Press Release
16th February 2006
PR08/06

It has been estimated that there will be one million less adult learners in the next three years. The threat to the infrastructure of adult education may result in it being permanently damaged.  The challenging times ahead will be discussed at a conference  - from the National Institute of Adult Continuing Education (NIACE) - in London next week.

The Saving Adult Learning Conference - to be held at the Abbey Community Centre in London on Tuesday 21st February - will examine the role of colleges, the effects of current funding priorities and the key recommendations of the NIACE-sponsored Committee of Enquiry into Adult Learning in Colleges.

Colin Flint, NIACE Director of Further Education, said, “Sir Andrew Foster’s review of the future role of further education - Realising the Potential - gives strong endorsement to the skills agenda.  However it has little to say about the needs of adult learners, other than those in the targeted groups - those interested in basic skills and a first Level 2 qualification - or about the demographic changes which will increasingly shape all our futures.  We are now in the lean years, as far as most adult learners are concerned.”

He continued, “This conference will allow major figures in adult learning to discuss the Government’s current strategy, whether we need a more inclusive approach to lifelong learning and perhaps most importantly - what our response should be to the current threat.”

Speakers at the Conference will include, Susan Pember OBE, Director – FE and the Learning and Skills Performance Group at the Department for Education and Skills; Chris Hughes CBE, Former Chief Executive of the Learning and Skills Development Agency and Chairman of the Committee of Enquiry; Denis McEnhill, Director of Inspection, Adult Learning Inspectorate; Martin Tolhurst, Principal and Chief Executive at Newham College, Christina Conroy, Principal and Chief Executive at Richmond Adult Community College and Alan Tuckett, Director of NIACE.

-ends-

 

For further information please contact:
Ed Melia, NIACE Press Officer, on 0116 204 4248 or 07795 358 870.


3.-
LEARNING TO GET BACK TO WORK – NIACE CONFERENCE ON WELFARE REFORM

National Institute of Adult Continuing Education – www.niace.org.uk
Press Release
14th February 2006
PR06/06

A central goal of the Department for Work and Pensions is to raise the employment rate and to help people move from welfare into paid employment. People receiving Incapacity Benefits are a prime focus of the Green Paper on Welfare Reform which seeks to change a system that too often has incentivised claimants to remove themselves permanently from the workforce.  A conference from the National Institute of Adult Continuing Education in London on Thursday will examine the significant challenge ahead.
The Welfare Reform: Learning to get back to work will hear about approaches currently being used across the country.  Rt Hon Margaret Hodge MP, Minister of State at the Department of Work and Pensions will make the keynote address.  The Conference will also include contributions from the Disability Rights Commission, the Centre for Economic and Social Inclusion, MC Consultancy, the Centre for Research into the Older Workforce and Jobcentre Plus.

Christine Nightingale, NIACE Development Officer for Inclusive Learning, said, “NIACE believes that there is an important role for education providers in supporting individuals - through learning - into employment. We are keen to remind the government that all types of learning can have a significant beneficial impact on health, well-being and self esteem which are directly related to gaining and retaining employment.”
She continued, “There will be enormous benefits for many individuals on the targeted benefits when they take-up wider learning opportunities before they are ready to enter employment or employment training. NIACE has shown through our work on the research projects - Discovering Potential, Prescribing Learning and in particular Making the Jump - that appropriate support, mentoring and learning opportunities can ensure that people with mental health difficulties, disabilities and learning difficulties make the sustainable transition needed to secure employment.”

Ends

For further information please contact:

Ed Melia, NIACE Press Officer, on 0116 204 4248 or 07795 358 870.

Notes to Editors

1.        The Welfare Reform: Learning to get back to work Conference will be held at the Abbey Community Centre, 24 Great Smith Street, London SW1P 3BU on Thursday 16th February 2006.  Journalists are invited to attend, more details from Ed Melia, NIACE Press Officer on 0116 204 4248 or 07795 358 870 or ed.melia@niace.org.uk


4.- KNOW HOW CONFERENCE

AUGUST 21-26, 2006, MEXICO CITY

IWTC WOMEN'S GLOBALNET #295
Activities and Initiatives of Women Worldwide
February 11, 2006

iwtc
iwtc@iwtc.org

"Weaving the Information Society: a Gender and Multicultural Perspective"

The Know How Conference is held every four years. In 2006 it will be hosted by Programa Universitario de Estudios de Genero (PUEG), Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM), in cooperation with the Know How Secretariat and the Know How Community. The Know How Community includes librarians, journalists, IT experts, researchers, indigenous and rural women's information workers, publishers and information activists representing excluded communities of women from all parts of the world.

The Mission of Know How Conference 2006 is to advance gender justice and respect for every nations cultural diversity within the information society, and promote access to information and communication as a fundamental women's and human right.

Know How 2006 has the following objectives: 1) To establish strategies that will promote the use of women's information to improve women's lives; 2) To develop a strategic plan aimed at narrowing the information/digital gap for women. 3) To share strategies that address the accessibility and availability of information for indigenous, excluded and rural women. 4) To found a Latin American Network of Information Centers and Libraries on Women's and Gender Studies.

CALL FOR PAPERS:

The International Program Committee calls for inspiring, provocative and creative papers for the conference.

THEMES:

1. Globalization, culture, information and gender: a) Library, culture and women; b) Writers, researchers and publishers: packaging knowledge to address the needs of women; c) Storytellers and web-makers: the changing nature of creating and disseminating information; d) Culturally and socially disadvantaged groups in the information society.

2. Media, gender and communication; a) The role of media in making women's information visible; b) Experiences related to the use of media by women; c) Women's access to communication in disaster situations.

3. The digital gap, gender and development: a) Review, criticise and give recommendations in relation to WSIS; b) Mapping the digital gap in different regions of the world.

4. Indigenous and rural women, ICTs and the information society: a) Analysis and diagnosis of the conditions faced by indigenous women and the use of ICTs; b) Rural and indigenous communities and the information society; c) Work experiences within indigenous and rural women's organizations to access information.

5.  Development of policies for libraries and library professionals: a) Networking for professional development; b) Developing digital libraries; c) Tools to promote access to and enable exchange of information; d) Developing a regional thesaurus for Latin America

6. Strategies and alternatives for financing gender and women's information initiatives; a) Strategies for the formulation of projects and their funding; b) Successful experiences with fund-raising; c) Management and tracking of projects; d) Alternative funding for libraries and information centers.

7. Policies for the development of the structure and legal status of the Know How Community; a) Know How and its future; b) Regional networks within the Know How Community

GUIDELINES FOR SUBMISSIONS:

Papers and presentations should be unpublished, original works, no longer than 15 minutes when read, and be on one of the proposed themes or sub-themes.

Papers should include the following elements: 1) Name of the author: 2) Name of the institution or organization: 3) 300 word abstract. If sent as an email attachment, presenters should use 11 point Arial font, and txt, rtf or doc formats. Submission can also be via certified mail or fax.

Papers can be submitted in Spanish, English or French.

Deadline for submissions: March 1st 2006