Dublin Learning City launches their FREE online Learning Festival for 2021!
Dublin Learning City is proud to launch the Dublin Learning City Festival, a fantastic free event to celebrate and promote learning for all through fun and creative workshops and activities. The Festival will run virtually from the 22nd to 24th March 2021 and will focus on new and existing community-based initiatives to promote learning among a variety of different groups in Dublin city and the greater Dublin area.
The aim of the Dublin Learning City initiative is to ensure that education and learning is accessible and free for all individuals, regardless of age or cultural background, in traditional and non-traditional settings. The initiative also aims to revitalise learning within families and communities, enable effective learning for the workplace, create a vibrant culture of learning and most importantly enhance the quality of learning opportunities available in the city.
The Festival will take place entirely online and will feature a wide range of workshops, webinars, talks and many other activities for attendees to enjoy. In order to create a diverse programme that includes a range of subjects of traditional and non-traditional learning, Dublin Learning City have invited individuals, organisations and companies from all over Dublin to take part in this year’s festival with all types of events, including virtual workshops, webinars, tutorials, podcasts and much more!
Dublin was established as a Learning City as defined by UNESCO in 2019. In collaboration with Dublin City Council and other educational and community stakeholders, Dublin Learning City aims to deliver and co-ordinate the programmes concept across Dublin city, including the Dublin City Learning Festival promoting learning for all.
Lord Mayor of Dublin Hazel Chu launched the free event, which focuses on new and existing community-based initiatives to promote learning among a variety of different groups in Dublin city and the greater Dublin area. She stated, “I am delighted to offer my support to this wonderful event, celebrating and encouraging learning for all. Dublin has enormous potential to stimulate and support learning among its citizens in ways that can help tackle existing issues, strengthen social cohesion and solidarity, and transform the prospects of communities for the better. Lifelong learning is key in creating a sustainable city and society; by striving to promote Dublin as a learning city, I believe that as citizens we will benefit from enhanced individual empowerment and employability, social inclusion, social mobility, economic development, cultural prosperity, and sustainable development.”
Denise McMorrow, Co-Chair of Dublin Learning City stated, “After having to postpone Dublin Learning City 2020 due to COVID-19, we are delighted to be able to go ahead with the festival this year. We are constantly working hard to establish sustainable inter-generational learning communities in the city in order to promote lifelong learning among various different groups and to establish Dublin as a learning city for all ages and interests. The Dublin Learning City Project is a collaborative effort between six Higher Education Institutions, Dublin City Council and Education and Training Boards with the goal of promoting Equal Access to Education for All.”
Holly Foley, Co-Chair of Dublin Learning City continued, “We hope that our event will help people from all backgrounds to see the fun in learning and the many diverse and different ways there are to learn. We believe that lifelong learning is crucial to the quality of an individual’s life; it boosts self-esteem, increases employability, helps individuals to meet new people from a range of different backgrounds and transcend social boundaries, all while enriching local communities. The Dublin Learning City initiative seeks to promote the various ways that individuals can learn something new, both inside and outside the classroom, through traditional and non-traditional methods of learning.”
The project is fully funded by the Higher Education Authority (HEA) Access Initiative that brings together people and organisations including the main education providers (UCD, TCD, NCAD, Marino Institute, IADT & RCSI) to work targeting socially disadvantaged learners and encourage and support them to take up learning opportunities at all stages of their lives. It has a strong partnership with Dublin City Council and the Education and Training Boards. Dublin joined the UNESCO Global Network of Learning Cities in 2019. UNESCO GNLC support and improve the practice of lifelong learning in the world’s cities and recognise progress made in building learning cities.
For more information on the Dublin Learning City Festival, visit: www.dublinlearningcity.ie/home/
