« Previous | Contents | Next »
Listen
People, Partnerships, Possibilities:
Report of inaugural meeting of the Lifelong Learning
Forum
INTRODUCTION
At the inaugural meeting of
the lifelong learning forum, Mark Batho, Head of the
Lifelong Learning Group in the Scottish Executive,
encouraged participants to play an active role and to
engage with each other in an open and constructive way.
This indeed was the tone of the whole event, with many
ideas generated, discussed and debated. Integrated into
this report are both the cartoon 'minutes' of the event,
and participants' comments from the roundtable discussions
that took place in the creative surroundings of The
Lighthouse, Glasgow on 16 December 2003.
Remit of the Lifelong Learning Forum
Enterprise and Lifelong Learning Ministers' hopes were
that the lifelong learning forum will build on the
collective knowledge and experience of its members to:
- review progress of our lifelong learning
strategy;
- advise on current and emerging issues in lifelong
learning;
- facilitate partnership working across sectors;
and
- act as a sounding board for new policy
initiatives.
The inaugural forum, the first of a series of annual
events, began its life in a phase of
learning about each other, described by
Lewis Macdonald, Deputy Minister of Enterprise and Lifelong
Learning in his opening speech. The aim is to reach a stage
where members learn both
from and
with each other, pooling their resources
in addressing problems and opportunities.
Purpose of this report
The aim of this report is to capture as much of the
lively, informative and challenging discussions that took
place at the roundtables. Hopefully it will serve not
simply as a record of those discussions, but as a pointer
to future outcomes of the lifelong learning panels that
take forward actions raised at the forum.
Both before and after the inaugural meeting of the
forum, members were involved in identifying and feeding
back their thoughts on the purpose, format and potential of
the lifelong learning forum. Included in this report,
therefore, is a summary of the priorities identified in the
pre-event 'Points of Departure' survey, as well as an
assessment of the usefulness of the first forum event. It
is reassuring that so many members believed that the first
forum addressed some of these priorities, and are confident
and committed to engage further to tackle others.
Where next?
The lifelong learning forum will meet annually
throughout the 5 years covered by
Life through Learning; Learning through Life,
Scotland's lifelong learning strategy. If you have ideas on
taking forward some of the issues raised at the forum,
please contact
Jackie Galbraith by telephone on
0141 242 0286 or by email at
jackie.galbraith@scotland.gsi.gov.uk.
« Previous | Contents | Next »