Invitation to become a member of the Friends of PASCAL Association

You are invited to become a member of the Friends of PASCAL Association headquartered in Melbourne Australia:

Friends of PASCAL International Association

Aims and Principles - what do we stand for?

Ethics and values, inclusiveness and respect

The Association’s aim is to express, support, and help to realize the values, principles and purposes on which PASCAL International Observatory was originally created; and to give effect to useful and constructive activities in pursuit of these values.

Access to education and learning for all

We aim to democratise the creation and use of knowledge and learning for collective as well as individual benefit, enabling citizens young and older to live richer and more meaningful lives, and equalising access and opportunity for all. In particular, we wish to help to open access and extend possibilities for learning by those who are experiencing difficulties, for example people with disabilities, ethnic minorities, refugees, and immigrants.

Making the ‘learning society’ real

We recognize the universal potential of learning and its importance to realizing personal goals, in particular workplace skills that will help people to find and hold decent jobs, and to empower them to engage and participate actively in community life in all its forms.

Supporting really useful lifelong learning

We aim at promoting relevant and useful education and training for the healthy social and economic development of communities, towns, regions and societies; we advocate community focussed scholarship and teaching applied to practical needs and problems. 

Recognizing the crucial importance of ‘Place’

Place is very important to both would-be learners and policy planners. The ‘P’ in the PASCAL acronym suggests a system of integrated and lifelong learning that brings together different places and institutions of formal learning in order to enhance access in meaningful and practical ways. We support the concept that schools, training institutions, and tertiary education systems (universities, colleges) are living parts of their local communities and regions: creating and using knowledge together, co-developing sustainably in ways that are good for all their citizens. We are aware of the crucial role of local and regional authorities in bringing together the various parts of the education and learning system. The concept of ‘Learning Cities’ and ‘Learning Regions’ are examples of such coordinated systems on a local level.

Reinstating Society and the Social

Economic and fiscal concerns have displaced vital social and ecological issues which we will strive to help rebalance through community dialogue and engagement, as suggested by the ‘SC’ in the PASCAL acronym standing for Social and Community, as well as Social Capital. 

Education as a means to collaborate and solve problems

We focus on helping to solve locally the most pressing problems that often cause confusion and disorder: educationfor all not education just for the privileged, bringing together all kinds of knowledge, skill and leadership.  

Activities – what will we do?

The work of the Association will be determined by elected officers and a committee, in continuing open discussion with Association members. The small founding group has started sharing ideas about possible activities, for example:

• Work in alliance with other civil society bodies and networks having similar purposes, to find solutions to serious global-local social, ecological and economic problems;
• Provide a forum to discuss important and difficult subjects especially via the PASCAL Website and OTB;
• Develop policy statements based on research and OTB dialogue to share with network partners, advocate for change and lead to public action;
• Collaborate with partners to conduct action research projects in core PASCAL areas on a comparative basis;
• Publish research and policy papers arising from R&D conducted by members;
• Further develop an Association business plan to guide and manage our activity.

Ways of working – what will we be?

Practise what we preach

The Association will strive for consistency between what is advocated and how it conducts its affairs, having respect for all, equal voice and treatment, shared leadership, fully valuing diverse experience, approaches and points of view. It will adhere to the principles and practices of transparent participatory democratic governance.

Origins of PASCAL

The PASCAL International Observatory (PIO) was created in 2002 at the instigation of RMIT University Vice-Chancellor Professor Ruth Dunkin following an OECD (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development) conference on universities and regional development co-hosted in Melbourne by RMIT and the Australian State of Victoria. Professor Chris Duke, who became the founding Secretary-General, was charged with developing PIO, which was initially modelled on the Association of Commonwealth Universities’ Borderless Higher Education Observatory. An informal partnership of universities and their regions took the name PASCAL and invited Dr Jarl Bengtsson of OECD’s Centre for Educational Research and Innovation to serve as founding Chair of the Pascal Board. The Board is not incorporated but Memoranda of Understanding are signed between four universities about potential joint work projects.

Higher Education

The Association was set up to solicit a larger active membership, to reflect the various directions and ways of involvement by the members, and to have them represented by an elected, accountable leadership. It provides a stronger membership base for effective wider action. The Association is incorporated and thus a legal person under the law of the state of Victoria, Australia. Our activities will be world-wide. Our current membership and working group is from across the world, and we will be communicating with the world through the Pascal Website especially OTB.  The physical location in Melbourne  is relevant for our incorporation and secretariat rather than for our activities.

The Association will thus be another member of the growing PASCAL family, complementing the work of the Observatory and cooperating with it wherever possible and useful.

Membership and Governance

In line with the principle of open membership, the Association will welcome any individual or organization, interested in supporting our aims and principles, into Association membership. There is no membership fee. A Register of Members will be kept in Melbourne, and used for elections and other Association business.

All Association Members are encouraged to use and contribute to the PASCAL Observatory Website, especially to discuss issues important to them and to society through OTB (Outside the Box).

The Association Public Officer is located in Melbourne. A President, Vice-President, Secretary and Treasurer, and a Committee will be elected according to Association rules. All posts are honorific.

Elections will take place towards the end of 2015. The member-chosen body will succeed the current founding interim management. 

For further information email Chris Duke [email protected].au. To apply for membership email Mary Serafim on [email protected], with your email and postal addresses and a short bio-note, stating your wish to become a Friends of PASCAL Association member and support the Aims and Principles, Activities and Ways of working as set out in this brochure.

Dorothy Lucardie and Steve Garlick, Joint Interim Chairs, Chris Duke and Charlotte Scarf, Joint Interim Secretaries. Mary Serafim, Administrative and Membership Officer.