ALCN Ripples - February 2024

ALCN Learning Forum
Wollongong – a Learning City Journey – the challenge of picking up a project mid-stream - Friday 23 February 3-4 pm
Join us for the first Learning Forum for 2024 (previously Friday Forums) and hear from Dianne Hillier, Project Leader Learning City

Dianne Hillier is the Project Leader for Wollongong Council’s Learning City project, having started in mid-2023. Understanding UNESCO criteria, the workings of a large Council, differences in project methodology, and clarifying what needs to be delivered have been some of the challenges of picking up a project mid-stream.

She’s keen to present her journey to date and seek ALCN members’ experience to further shape the project.

If you haven’t already received an invitation please join by emailing  Sharyn Wheatcroft [email protected] [5] who will provide you with a calendar invitation and TEAMS link.
 
This platform serves as an informal learning forum, and we encourage and appreciate your active participation in discussions and interactions.
If there is a learning practitioner/colleague you wish to invite, please advise and I will provide the link for them to join in.

Note: The topic of the next Learning Forum in March will be Governance Frameworks for Partnerships. Date: Thursday 21 March 3-4 pm. Details to follow.

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Notes from the previous ALCN Learning Forum on 8 December 2023 A report on the ALCN Learning Forum (previously Friday Forum) about Lifelong Learning at the City of Ballarat (presented by Joanne Lockwood, Coordinator Ballarat Library and Learning), and the "Pearls of Wisdom" program at the City of Melton (presented by Silvia Velez, Lifelong Learning Officer, Melton) is available at the ALCN website. Relevant links are: City of Ballarat Lifelong Learning Background paper Ballarat Profile for ALCN [6] Lifelong Learning at the City of Ballarat presentation Ballarat Learning Profile 2023 [7] Seniors Month at Melton Libraries S [8]eniors Month.PDF [8]

Danielle Marie, Learning & Partnerships Coordinator from Brimbank City Council,  is pleased to announce the program for the 2024 Brimbank Writers & Readers Festival [9], 14-23 March.

Festival events include panel discussions and author talks, workshops, storytelling and more!

The opening night event this year will be all about  Food, Culture & Community [10] at the Bowery Theatre, featuring Melburnian of the Year, Kon Karapanagiotidis, CEO of the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre, with Nornie Bero of Mabu Mabu, Hamed Allahyari of Sunshine’s Salamati, and Jaclyn Crupi celebrating culture and food with Paul Bateman.
 
Other events include, Undefeated:90 migrant women, 118 journeys [11], which falls on Harmony Day, where we will hear from four migrant women who will share their stories of living in a multicultural Australia.
 
Other highlights include authors Tony Birch, John Marsden, Dinuka Mckenzie and St Albans writer Amra Pajalic launching her new book, as well as an online conversation with Noah Riseman on uncovering the history of Australian LGBTQIA+ lives, as well as workshops on writing and publishing.

There is also a Microfiction competition, children’s workshops, and live performance.
 
Online bookings are now open and all events are at no charge to attend. [4]
 
We are also proud to include and present a play created by the ILBIJERRI Theatre Company. Please note, that registrations for this event can be made at Creative Brimbank at the following link Goodbye Aunty Flo [12]. All other events can be booked at the above link.

UNESCO UIL announced that 64 cities from 35 countries joined the UNESCO Global Network of Learning Cities in recognition of their outstanding efforts to make lifelong learning a reality for all at the local level. 11 of the cities were from the Asia Pacific region - three from the Republic of Korea, one from the Philippines, two from the People's Republic of China; three from Thailand and two from Vietnam.  As Audrey Azoulay, UNESCO Director-General, noted there are now 356 member cities from around the world! Read about the announcement of the new members of the UNESCO GNLC here [13].

There are four members of the GNLC in Australia - Wyndham City Council and Melton City Council in Victoria, Canning City Council in Western Australia, and Circular Head in Tasmania.

Applications for new members occur every two years and the ALCN looks forward to seeing more Australian Learning Cities apply next year.

The UNESCO Global Network of Learning Cities offers targeted capacity building for its members to enable them to strengthen their learning journey. This includes an international conference on learning cities held every two years (the next one in early December 2024); periodic webinars; online tutorials on how to build a learning city; and communities of practice on topics such as health, and active citizenship...

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The 17th PASCAL Conference will take place on from 4-6 July 2024. It will be hosted by the University of Taipei, Taiwan University of Education and Datong Community College of Taipei City. The venue will be the Howard Civil Service International House [15] in Taipei. 

NOTE: Abstracts not exceeding 500 words on the themes below must be submitted by 4 March.  For details of what to include in the abstract go to the PASCAL website [16].

The theme is New Challenges for Higher Education, Cities and Regions: Addressing SDGs in Changing Contexts.

Sub-themes for the conference include
1. Climate change - its impact on growth, human rights, inequality and ecology, and the transformations that come with mitigation and abatement;
2. Pandemics, natural and human-made disasters – impacts on peace, human rights, migration and economic resilience;
3. Diversity and social protest in cities in relation to issues of inequality, human rights and economic development;
4. Cities and regions – changing economies and implications for employment, enterprise and entrepreneurship;
5. Artificial Intelligence (AI) – potential and risks related to learning, security and peace.
 

The City of Port Adelaide Enfield (PAE), South Australia, Impact Project – 2023

Benita Parsons, Community Learning Leader (Libraries)

The City of PAE Libraries in 2023 had a project to implement tools to measure outcomes delivered by library programs. We used a mix of quantitative and qualitative surveys to compile this data.

Many ongoing sessions used Most Significant Change technique in a survey question to the regular participants.

For early literacy programs, staff made observations of skill levels in Term One and Term Three, then measured the improvement.

Other survey questions relevant to the sessions were asked at one-off ad hoc programs. The data was then compiled with some quotes and stories into a two-page infographic. This was shared with the team, Managers and Executive.

It was a great way to celebrate the impact of our work and reinforce to staff and stakeholders the impact of programs to the community.

We also asked our Partner organisations, who receive free room hire and marketing support, to share their participant surveys and stories.

The stories highlighted showed relevance to our City Plan and Library Service Strategy.

One great story from our Adult Literacy class:

A long-term participant in the program began coming to learn to fill in forms independently. He struggled to read and write his name, address, and other information. He is now reading Dante’s Peak – Penguin Reader Level 2 adaptation of the novel.

Another impact story from a Scrabble Club

A participant brought to our attention an unintended outcome of the program. Some people with disability and their carers have been attending Scrabble Club. Another participant wrote that they had not only improved their Scrabble skills but also learned about disabilities and how to communicate between with a wide range of people in the community.

The team is now reviewing these data sets and considering what changes we can make to programs to further improve outcomes in 2024.


Reference on Most Significant Change Technique
Rick Davies,Jess Dart The Most Significant Change (MSC) Technique: A Guide to Its Use (2005) 

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Readings/Resources

Publication about climate change:
Simon Bradshaw, Lesley Hughes, Greg Mullins, David Karoly, Joële Gergis, Dinah Arndt. 8 February 2024. Climate whiplash: wild swings between weather extremes. Climate Council. Available at  https://apo.org.au/sites/default/files/resource-files/2024-02/apo-nid325... [17]

The report takes readers through the swings of weather extremes that  Australians have been enduring this summer and reinforces the urgent need to take action.  The authors advise the country needs to invest in climate science and information services and to boost our emergency response capabilities.

Importantly the work our learning cities and learning communities do to invest proactively in climate change preparation and response and the resilience of our communities is urgent and ongoing.

Publication about mastering reading skills:

Hunter, J., A. Stobart, and A. Haywood. 11 February 2024, The reading guarantee: how to give every child the best chance of success. Grattan Institute. Available from https://apo.org.au/sites/default/files/resource-files/2024-02/apo-nid325... [18]

A fundamental promise of an education system is that almost every child who goes to school will learn how to read. This report outlines evidence showing about one in three Australian school students are not mastering the reading skills they need. Abstract from APO.

Publications about regional, rural and remote Australia:

Australian Government, February 2024. State of Australia's Regions 2024. Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications and the Arts (Australia). Available from https://apo.org.au/sites/default/files/resource-files/2024-02/apo-nid325... [19]

A planning document for the Australian Government, the report takes a look at key issues and opportunities for regions as identified at the local level, including through the Regional Development Australia committee network.

The report is structured under the four priority areas of the Regional Investment Framework – people, places, services, industries, and local economies – bringing together the latest data and local insights on contemporary issues. Extract from APO Description.

Tabatha Griffin, Upekha Andrahannad, 24 April 2023,  VET delivery in regional, rural and remote Australia: barriers and facilitators. NCVER, Adelaide. Available from https://www.ncver.edu.au/research-and-statistics/publications/all-publications/vet-delivery-in-regional,-rural-and-remote-australia-barriers-and-facilitators [20]

This research investigated how the training sector could better meet the needs of regional, rural and remote Australia. It explored how various stakeholders in the VET system understand local skills needs and the barriers faced by RTOs when delivering training in such locations.

Understanding local skills needs relies heavily on local consultation as most national/state data sources become less reliable at the local level. RTOs face many barriers when delivering in regional, rural and remote locations, but training might be better enabled with consideration of the diversity of place, funding arrangements, coordination of training demand, and the facilitation of partnerships. Abstract from NCVER.