Irish Learning City Network meet to promote accessible and life-long learning
The initiative involves cities from across the island of Ireland and will see festivals take place in Dublin, Cork and Limerick
Dublin Learning City, an initiative spearheaded by five universities and colleges across Dublin under the aegis of the Programme for Access to Higher Education (PATH), hosted the second meeting of the Irish Learning City Network last week. The meeting welcomed Learning City representatives from Cork, Limerick, Derry and Belfast to discuss their work in promoting learning throughout the island of Ireland.
Dublin launched its Learning City initiative, as defined by UNESCO in December 2018. The Dublin initiative is led by the Leinster Pillar 1 cluster, comprising of University College Dublin (UCD), Trinity College Dublin (TCD), Dún Laoghaire Institute of Art, Design and Technology (IADT), Marino Institute of Education (MIE) and the National College of Art and Design (NCAD). With the support of Dublin City Council, Dublin Learning city is led by Denise McMorrow, Student Experience Manager (IADT) and Trevor Purtill, Research & Development Programme Manager (MIE).
Dublin is the newest member of the Irish Learning City Network which endeavours to create a borderless country of learning, ensuring opportunities for accessible, life-long learning throughout Ireland.
The aim of the Dublin Learning City initiative is to ensure that education and learning is accessible for all inhabitants, regardless of age, and in traditional and non-traditional settings. As part of the Dublin programme, a week long festival will take place throughout the city from the 8th to the 12th of April. Similar festivals will also take place in Cork and Limerick.
Peader Nolan, coordinator of the Festival, said, “We are delighted to be organising the first Dublin Learning City Festival in April of this year. The festival will look to encourage everyone living in Dublin to engage in learning and creativity. A broad range of events will take place in venues across the city and we encourage anyone organising an event for that week to get in touch to avail of promotional support from the Irish Learning City Network.”
Ireland Learning Cities’ partners will amplify existing community education initiatives by using their city wide network and retaining an inclusive and inter-generational focus as a core operational tenet. In doing so, citizens across these learning cities will benefit from enhanced individual empowerment, employability and social inclusion, economic development, cultural prosperity, and sustainable development.
Dublin Learning City: Enabling, Fostering, Exploring and Celebrating Everyday Conversations about Learning and Opportunities for Dublin’s Citizens.
Those looking for more information on the Dublin Learning City Festival or to submit their own events can contact learningcity@iadt.ie.
