International Transformative Learning Cities Pre-Conference (to the International Transformative Learning Conference): Transforming cities, communities and ourselves

Arriving in New York on a balmy late autumn day on the 7^th Nov 2018, we arrived at Columbia University’s legendary Teachers’ College, Horace Mann main building for the pre-conference event, specifically on Transformative Learning Cities.

Please also see the main conference report...

and Professor Michael Osborne's parallel Bulgarian presentation:

Big Data in Bulgaria: Non-formal Education - Meeting the Challenges of the 21st Century...

I attended with several ‘hats on’, as a senior lecturer in the Psychology of Adult Learning, School of Education, University of Glasgow, but also as a delegate for the PASCAL International Observatory, and to share my work as part of the Urban Big Data Centre, Glasgow (ubdc.ac.uk). I had been invited to the conference based on some collaborative work we had done with the conference organisers, soon to be published in our chapter: Lido, C., Osborne, M., Livingston, M., Sila-Nowicka, K. & Thakuriah, P. (2018). AHEA Book chapter. 'Big Data' techniques to improve learning access and citizen engagement for adults in urban environments. In Scott, L., Watson, C. & Wu, A.T., Quality of Life in Adult Learning (In preparation).  American Higher Education Alliance Series: Adult Learning in Professional, Organizational and Community Settings. Charlotte, NC, USA: Information Age Publishing.

The pre-conference event was ably organised by the book’s co-editoris, Drs. Maria Liu Wong, Aimee Tiu-Wu, Connie Watson and Leodis Scott.  The keynote was introduced by the very charismatic emcee Dr. Tej Anand, and an inclusive keynote was offered by our own colleague Dr Rob Mark. The day was marked by actively facilitated sessions across, and beyond the campus. We began with parallel sessions around the topics of ‘Entrepreneurship, Learning Cities, and Transformative Learning’ and ‘Sustainability, Learning Cities, and Transformative Learning’  We then journeyed across morning side park to a networking Lunch at the Walls-Ortiz Gallery and Center. 

This walk afforded me the chance to catch up with former colleagues but also to engage with inspirational new colleagues, for instance Dr. Yabome Gilpin-Jackson With whom we discussed her work on narratives regarding ethnicity (www.SLDConsulting.org), as well as Dr. Shawn McCann, with whom we discussed emerging cognitive neuroscience and active play as guidelines for transformative coaching experience in the field (http://cognitiveperformancegroup.com/). 

We had an amazing lunch of Caribbean food, where I met participants from around the globe (discussing the issues of ‘where are you from’ and ‘what is home’ for the ‘citizens of the world’).  We then selected our own transformational learning activity-form a photo walk of the area to storytelling within the gallery setting, engaging with images and stories of local life.

Post-lunch we engaged in transformative learning spaces around ‘Faith and Spirituality in the Learning City’, facilitated by Dr Maria Liu Wong, and travelled to for the ‘Scholar/Practitioner Panel on Learning Cities, Empowering Citizens’, led by Dr. Aimee Tiu-Wu.  I was honoured to close the conference with my talk on ‘Transforming Learning Cities using Glasgow ‘Big-Data’ to challenge notions of ‘Lifewide Literacies’, based on my work with Dr Kate Reid and Prof Mike Osborne (Chair of Adult and Lifelong Learning).

I introduced the need for upskilling and promoting ‘lifewide literacies’ (such as health, eco and data literacies) to promote truly inclusive urban spaces. It was argued that existing data is an under-considered source for empowering citizens for community social change.  We offered an exemplar of using data to communicate with the public and open family conversations about lifewide literacy inequalities and we concluded with our hands-on badgemaking activity, to create our own lifewide literacy ‘person’, illustrating the lifewide strengths we recognise in ourselves and our families.

The knowledge exchange opportunities were phenomenal, and I was very pleased to hear that I made ‘big data sound sexy’ and inclusive, and applicable to transformative learning practitioners, and community developers alike. I have solidified meaningful relationships, and deep learning experiences (such as from Prof Terry Maltbia, Faculty Director of The Columbia Coaching Certification Program Associate Professor of Practice in Adult Learning & Leadership Program) from this interactive and transformative conference, which included wordless music spaces, sand art in the library and the chance to breathe, listen transformatively and reflect on our own best practice- in teaching and research. 

I dearly hope the Learning Cities-Transformative Learning communities continue to collaborate and develop directions of teaching practice and diverse research methods in our pursuit of inclusive and transformational learning spaces.

Dr Catherine Lido

Dr. Catherine M. Lido is a Social Psychologist in the School of Education, University of Glasgow, with more than 13 years' experience lecturing and researching the Psychology of Human Diversity.  She spent three years as a researcher at the Urban Big Data Centre, focusing on educational inclusion in the city. 

Please also see the main conference report...

and Professor Michael Osborne's parallel Bulgarian presentation:

Big Data in Bulgaria: Non-formal Education - Meeting the Challenges of the 21st Century...

Photos taken at International Transformative Learning Cities Pre-Conference in New York, 7^th Nov, 2018 (click to enlarge)