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This year's event saw the launch of the #BestEd
Campaign - a sector wide response, debating and highlighting
the importance of adult education in Scotland. You can read below
how to get involved.
The rest of the day included Gavin Cargill,
from Value the Person, and Mike Stevenson, from
Thinktastic, who were the two key speakers. There was shared
learning from 18 Members at the Session Bites, as
well as a workshop/Q&A on social media.
#BestEd -
Launch:
"[I] Enjoyed the
opportunity to reflect in-depth with valued colleagues on the
future of adult education."
The Policy Forum: Jayne Stuart, Director at
Learning Link Scotland, led delegates in a dialogue on possible
visions for the future of adult education in Scotland.
The Launch of the #BestEd Campaign: Jayne
launched the #BestEd campaign following the Policy Forum.
Press Release: #BestEd Campaign Says Scotland's Future
Depends on Better Adult Education:
The main message of #BestEd is that adult education is a
prerequisite to a healthy, vibrant, equal society. The world
changes so quickly, and often too unexpectedly, for us to afford
the naïve belief that what we learn as children and young adults
will see us prosper tomorrow. However, it would seem that adult
education is currently being pushed aside, and we are in danger of
losing all sorts of opportunities in Scotland. Education can't end
when you reach 24, and by only offering learning to young people,
we are creating a future crisis for our country.
In support of these ideas, learners and organisations engaged in
adult education are coming together to support #BestEd, and to talk
about what kind of Scotland we want to live in.
Read the
rest of the press release here.
#BestEd - Next Steps:
"Convicing policy makers
of the value and benefit of adult education."
There will be a number of upcoming events and opportunities:
- A delegation will meet with the Minister for Children
and Young People, Angela Constance MSP at
the end of November this year.
Ahead of the ministerial meeting, we would like to invite you to
attend a Policy Forum meeting being hosted by
Learning Link Scotland on 17th November 2011 in Edinburgh, from
11.00 to 14.00 (Sandwich lunch will be provided). The forum will
offer you the opportunity to directly inform the
ministerial meeting, and nominate 3 representatives to
join us in meeting the Minister, scheduled to take place on 29th
November 2011.
The Forum will also talk about how to engage with the Scottish
Government's Engage for Education and a response
to the Post-16 Education Reform.
If you would like to join us please email us
by 15th November.
- Engage for Education is the online initiative
by the Scottish Government, designed to enable direct conversation
to discuss issues relating to learning and education.
There are ways we can get involved right now. They are looking
for topics to discuss on
their website, which is a great opportunity to promote and
debate adult education. When you follow the link you will see that
Jayne has already commented. She said "We want to have a national
conversation about how we can make adult education the best it can
be, and ensure that opportunities exist for people of all ages."
And they have an active twitter account @engagefored,
another way to connect and promote adult education.
- There will be further inputs, blogs and briefings as
opportunities develop. You can stay in-touch and involved through
email, our website and social media. View our new
#BestEd Campaign page.
"Very good conference...
Keen to keep involved via email and social
media."
Social Media: One of the key aspects of the
#BestEd campaign, and a key area of
growth for charities in general, is a social media presence.
The more members engaged and participating online the louder the
voice of adult education.
We ran an open dialogue during lunch to share ideas on how to
best use Twitter, Facebook and
LinkedIn.
Want to get involved? You can follow #BestEd, @BestEdCampaign
and @learninglinksco
on Twitter, join the conversation in our LinkedIn
group, and visit us on
Facebook to support, discuss, share your thoughts, and create
new ideas on adult education.
"Well organised, lots of
interaction/discussions."
Session Bites: 18
organisations delivering learning for adults showcased a wide
range of opportunities for learners. They engaged in dialogue about
their good practice and shared ideas, work and practice with others
in the session.
"Key note [speakers] were inspiring - found it an
interesting and stimulating day."
Gavin Cargill, from Value the Person, was the
morning keynote speaker.
Gavin's
input helped us consider:
- What difference would it make to be more valued for the work
you do?
- Do people praise you and thank you for what you do?
- Do you want your organisation to be the kind of place where
this happens naturally?
Mike Stevenson - Mike's challenge at
Communicate and Learn was to motivate you to do things differently
as a result of his input. Through the lens of communications he
explored how you can learn to:
- Improve collaboration
- Find your campaigning voice
- Express the outcomes and impact of your work more clearly
You can view the day's programme
here.
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