Learning Communities of Modern Liberal Adult Education

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Liberal adult education has a wide impact in society and influences to social capital and social cohesion, active citizenship and internalization. At the moment liberal adult education needs renewing both in Estonia and in Finland. Nonformal education too must be modernised to better fulfil new expectations of society, region and individuals. Liberal adult education takes seriously promotion of social inclusion and is committed to work towards multicultural and civilized civil societies. Aim of the project is to reform organisations of liberal adult education, to widen organisations’ (adult education centers) networks with new local and cross border partners and make sure adult education centers are seen as active and interesting partners. Liberal adult education can have many roles in attracting Baltic Sea region and in the wellbeing of inhabitants and regions. Organisations of liberal adult education operate in an ever changing environment. Even in complex situations adult education centers should remain their proactive role because they have freedom to concentrate acute and important issues like collaboration with different social groups. There can be seen new kind of expectations towards adult education centers; they should operate like a bonding agent adding social cohesion. Trends like civil society, education and equality, information society, ageing and economical resources have impacts to the role and meaning of liberal adult education. Adult education centers are prepared to be locally active organisations with updated skills and new ideas. The final beneficiaries are well being individuals and partners of adult education centers: they get added value to their personal, social and working lives. Adult education centers renew their working methods, networks and know-how. Cross border collaboration is a forum for benchmarking and designing new operations models. Working programme consists of courses for staff and networks of adult education centers, systematization of cross border teacher exchange, research about expectations in regions and needs of new partners and target groups, pilots of social media (wikis,blogs, etc.) usage in liberal adult education, open workshops and seminars.

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