Adult Learning and Peace

“Since wars begin in the minds of men, it is in the minds of men that the defences of peace must be constructed.“ UNESCO Constitution, 16 November 1945
 
It's been over seven decades since this constitution was drawn up
and for many people the world has changed and improved during this time. The right to education established in many conventions thereafter aims to ensure everyone can access learning when they need it, but despite this there are still vast inequalities that we must address to make our world a better place.

In our world of adult learning and education 'living peacefully' is intrinsic
in the teachings, there's always something better to be achieved or an ambition reached when we show a little compassion and kindness to the people around us. 
 
As an organisation we've been more closely involved with UNESCO since 1997 when the Hamburg declaration led on the idea of having a Week dedicated to adult learners in Member States, we'd already had success in the UK and other people wanted to join us. This peaceful embracing of adult learning as a means of self-improvement and empowerment helped shape the world throughout the nineties and early millennium and the world is richer for it.
 
UNESCO has long promoted a humanistic vision of learning based on
principles of respect for life, human dignity, and cultural diversity, as well
as social justice and international solidarity. None more so that when they invited adult learners from all over the world to join their Intergovernmental Conference on adult learning in 2009. Almost a decade ago now-how time flies, but what changes has adult learning seen in this time?
 
Here in Scotland the initial promise of developing a lifelong
learning culture and learning society was halted and skills took over in its
place. The functional development of filling in deficits in people's skills took over and changed the way people thought about lifelong learning. Those with financial means could still afford to pay for their own personal development and interest groups, but the high budget cuts left many in disadvantaged communities feeling that they'd been abandoned. 
 
From 2009 till 2014 there was little movement towards realising
that powerful vision in Learning: The Treasure Within where the central tenet of lifelong learning connected people with skills, their communities,
themselves and more importantly with other people and cultures. The four pillars concept of Learning: to Know; to Do; to Be and to Live Together advises against delivering one pillar without the others unless we want tricky foundations or a more unequal society. Equity is more important than equality of opportunity in this case and the idea that those living in poverty should be restricted to filling the gaps in their knowledge rather than developing their aspirations has often felt uncomfortable.
 
The finances haven't changed much, no real investment in community-based adult learning has meant that it'll be some 18 years since there was any real money to talk of. Local adult learning organisations haven't fared well either, it's hard to enter into a contract culture if you volunteer to run a community group that runs learning opportunities, so the very poor have no voice, forced to stand still, 'no ambition for us' was one of the feedback points we received at an event in the 100 voices programme.

So, when the Scottish Government's Statement of Ambition for Adult
Learning was published in May 2014, people started to get excited by the ideas of Lifelong, Life Wide and Learner Centred Learning-let's face it who wouldn't? A change in Cabinet Secretary soon after slowed the initial momentum-but people kept hope. 'Surely the Government knows that lifelong learning is good for our health, our economy, our communities, our families and our society' rings loud in every local community facility we visit. 'What is it we have to do to be heard and taken seriously?'
 
This year we're consulting on a strategy to help realise the
ambitions within that statement-please join in the discussions if you feel it's important to you and your community, whatever kind it may be. 
 
On world peace day I'm hoping to encourage you to think about
adult learning those excluded and most in need-their needs are not only food and shelter, but nourishment and enrichment of the mind and soul.