Hume Stimulus Paper

HUME GLOBAL LEARNING VILLAGE [1]

An Initiative Taken by a Local Government Council in a Diverse Community

The Hume Global Learning Village illustrates the key role of a local government council in fostering and supporting a vision for an inclusive learning community that integrates social, economic, and cultural development in a diverse community with considerable disadvantage. The Village, located in the northern suburbs of Melbourne has been sustained since 2003 through three phases of development.[2]

The Global Learning Village had its origins a decade ago in the action of Hume City Council in establishing a Safe City Task Force and adopting a Social Justice Charter and Bill of Human Rights. These initiatives reflect the diverse nature of the community with 140 nationalities speaking 125 languages other than English at home, and with 28.8% of the population born overseas. The strong concern for inclusion and social justice has been a driving force for this initiative since 2003.

The Village is a partnership of over 750 organisations and individuals. The community has been extensively consulted in the work of the Village, including strategic planning for the Village.

Strategies

The Village was given an early high profile in the community through the building of an impressive Global Learning Centre which incorporated a public library, community meeting rooms, training rooms, public access internet and a coffee shop. Funding and support was provided by the Victorian Government, Pratt Foundation, The Age newspaper, as well as Hume City Council.

A learning vision for Hume was built into the Hume City Council Plan for 2030 directed at widening lifelong learning opportunities, addressing disadvantage, enhancing quality of life, and fostering inclusion in the community.

Three strategic plans have been developed since 2003: Learning Together 1 (2003-2007), Learning Together 2 (2007-2010) and Learning Together 3 (2010-2013).

Learning Together 3 is a city-wide strategy reflecting the importance of lifelong learning and its promotion in many contexts.. This Action Plan is aligned with the Council Plan 2030 so that long-term perspectives are built into initiatives to be taken over the next three years. This third generation strategy reflects the maturing of partnerships built up since 2003 and positions learning as a strategic driver in the social, economic, and cultural development of Hume city. Its goals are focussed on building a culture of learning in the community, strengthening pathways to learning, employment and shared prosperity, and strengthening the commitment of partners through collaborative planning, community engagement and advocacy of learning.

Setting Directions and Governance

The Village remains the responsibility of Hume City Council and is funded by the Council with additional funding obtained from time to time for particular initiatives, such as building the Global Learning Centre. The Council is assisted by a strong Advisory Board while a Village Committee provides for active community involvement. The Advisory Board is chaired by a former Premier of Victoria, John Cain, with tertiary education, council and community membership so that a balance of community and external viewpoints is obtained. This mix has been creative and has continued to drive innovation in the work of the Village.

Innovations

An on-going process of innovation has been a feature of the Village. Innovations have included:

• Establishment of an Ideas Lab in the Global Learning Centre supported by the Victorian Government and several major ICT companies to foster innovation in applications of ICT in education and training.
• Conduct of an annual Hume Global Learning Village Research Day to enable researchers to disseminate findings relevant to development of the Village.
• Implementation of the Four Seasons of Learning programs to promote and structure learning activities throughout the year.
• Annual delivery of programs to further stimulate the learning environment including a significant Teachers Scholarship program and Village members forums providing an opportunity for presentations to members on contemporary learning issues by noted speakers.
  
  

Success Factors

The sustainability of this initiative has been driven by the following success factors:

1. The strong leadership and support provided by Hume City Council throughout.
2. A clear vision linked to strategic planning for the Council.
3. Active partnership building that has developed networks throughout the community supporting the initiative.
4. Strategic planning and the initiatives taken have been responsive to needs in this diverse community, and have shown progression in the work of the Village.
5. A broad approach has been taken which has linked social, educational, cultural, and economic development.
6. The balance and interaction of community and external viewpoints obtained through the machinery and programs of the initiative.
7. The progression from an early phase of entrepreneurial leadership to a form of collective leadership as the Village has matured.
8. Priority given to communication through print materials, special events, and the role of stakeholders such as the library service.

For Discussion:

1. What do you see as the distinctive strengths of the Hume Global Learning Village approach that are likely to sustain this initiative? Are there lessons for other communities?
2. Is this approach likely to be more relevant in a community with considerable ethnic diversity and areas of disadvantage so that needs are more transparent?
3. In what ways could heritage learning based on the cultural heritage brought to Hume by migrants be made a stronger feature of this initiative? What should be the objectives?
4. The Village aims to build up a learning culture in Hume. What are likely to be the best indicators of progress in achieving this objective? In what ways might this evolving culture be made more creative?
5. What suggestions can you make to strengthen the work of the Village and speed up achievement of the 2030 vision?

Peter Kearns is the author of this paper.  He is a member of the Advisory Board of the Hume Global Learning Village, an Associate of the PASCAL Observatory,  co-ordinator of the PASCAL International Exchanges, and Director of Global Learning Services.  He has had careers as a teacher, Australian public servant and consultant, including a period as a member of the Australian Delegation to the OECD in Paris.                                                                                                                

January 2011