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WORLD COMMITTEE FOR LIFELONG LEARNING (CMA)

From Evelyne DERET

Lifelong Learning
Learning territories: stakes and prospects

As life expectancy increases, territories have to take into account enlarged life horizons, where useful and necessary solidarities take shape and enhance a better individual and collective quality of life.

A territory can be considered as a learning territory if it can organize efficient synergies which are useful to everyone and to society. It is a major asset against the compartmentalization and imperviousness of educational systems, especially in countries where social inequalities are important.

We must keep in mind that adult education is considered in a very different way whether countries are developed or developing; the former insist on the recognition of life experience, on low levels of literacy and on employability (pan European region). The latter focus on the fight against illiteracy and the access to basic education, i.e. the three R's (Latin American regions, the Caribbean, Asia and the Pacific, Africa, Arabian Region). And territories, according to the countries, are defined at the level of regions, cities, towns, rural communities, urban communities, districts…

But it is clear that town and region, since they are close people and due to their human size, are the relevant territories for the implementation of lifelong learning policies. Territories are appropriate to gather all the actors of the "learning society", thanks to the horizontal synergies and the forces of convergence that they permit to implement. Answers can be found there for all publics, particularly for infants, small companies and under skilled labor, women, older people…

But some questions remain: several articles will describe some achievements and will present the opinions of academics and researchers who will analyze the conditions of implementation of learning territories.

Four examples will illustrate the issue:

  • Where does the notion of learning town come from? Evelyne Deret's article will provide a few benchmarks.
  • On which conditions can a territory become a learning territory? Jean-Luc Ferrand's article will bring some elements of an answer.
  • What can be the role of a town when it claims to be a learning or educational town? It is the subject of a discussion between Pilar Figueras, Secretary General of the International Association of Learning Towns (AIVE), and Philippe Mérieux, Director of the IUFM of Lyon.
  • What part will be played by new information technologies and what will digital towns bring us? André Loechel's article will deal with this question.

The World Committee for Lifelong Learning (CMA) has selected three key themes for its work: learning networks, learning territories, and learning companies. These themes have already been developed in the Shanghai Forum of July 2010 and in the cycle of international seminars of 2011.

We have chosen to select the theme of learning territories in CMA's first Newsletter for a documented approach, since territories are actually to play a major role in the enhancement of lifelong learning.

Since infancy to adult age, territories have to take into account the major stages of anyone's life: evolution, discontinuity or disruptions.



Yves ATTOU