Cities Learning Together: the PIE Experience

Nice paper Peter. I might add one more requirement for future PIE interactions. That is the development of tools that will stimulate cross-regional cooperation.  For example where city administrations are seeking to learn from each other, it would be useful to have a tool which informed city administrators about the nature and scope of a learning (ECCOWELL) city so that they could focus on those topics of interest to them and seek to gather the experiences of others. The same goes for interaction between schools, universities, adulted, museums, libraries and business, extending eventually to all stakeholders, including the citizens themselves. Of course such tools so exist though probably not in the format required by PIE cities. For example the stakeholder audits and the learning needs audits developed some years ago. All of them are available on http://eurolocal.info. These could act as the basis for further development between cities. I do wonder whetherf the message that we all think is imperative is ever going to seep down to the people who have to put it into practice. Hence tools to do so.

A secondary type of tool would be easy to understand videos, ads and feedback mechanisms that could be used by teachers, leaders, the media etc. Publicity is important. And lastly how about a book of learning city jokes - sometimes we are all too serious and need to lighten up a little. Note how many of the best advertisements make us laugh.

Norman