Observatory PASCAL

 

Jucevicienne P, Longworth N and Osborne M.J.

 

 

Propelled by the forces of globalisation, rapid change and the need for social inclusion, national, regional and local governments are transforming their view of education. The imperative to increase social, intellectual and human capital in order to survive in an increasingly dynamic and complex employment and community environment now drives the development agenda. The aim is not just to provide learning, lifelong, for all citizens of a city, region and nation, but to actively create the culture of learning that will encourage and enable them to participate in it continuously. Education is no longer the preserve of the education department, it pervades every sphere of local and regional government and affects the way that governance is organised and managed.

 

 

 

 

 

 

In order to give the development of PASCAL in Europe a push forward, Stirling University and its partners in the LILARA (Learning in Local and Regional Authorities) project made a successful proposal (PENR3L) to the European Commission. Its rationale is that the development of learning cities and regions will not happen unless there is a viable network of expertise centres, normally based in one or more universities in each European country, working with practitioners from local and regional government to carry out the necessary research and to push forward the learning cities and regions agenda. In this it mirrors the PASCAL world-wide objectives.

 

PENR3L’s objective is therefore to establish a dynamic and growing working network of expertise centres and forward-looking local and regional authorities that will work together to accelerate the growth throughout Europe of learning cities and regions, ready to meet the challenges of the 21^st century. It will do this by organising:

Each of these events will have a certain number of free and subsidised places, and we will be inviting interest from potential participants early in 2007.

 

PASCAL originated from OECD. It is a much-needed growing network of local authorities and universities to address the needs of local and regional authorities in matters of place management, social capital and learning regions. Its European hub operates from the University of Stirling and comprises universities from several European countries together with regional authorities such as Kent and national authorities dealing with local government issues, such as the Scottish Executive. It has equally knowledgeable partners in the state of Victoria, Australia, where most cities and towns are now learning communities, and is aiming to spread into other parts of the world. Its goal is to provide the knowledge and the tools that enable local and regional authorities to become dynamic learning communities, cities and regions, building up their social, Intellectual and human capital to meet the demands of the 21^st century. Already its partners have produced ‘Stakeholder Audits’, tools to stimulate local authorities and their stakeholders in universities, small businesses, adult colleges and schools to become ‘learning organisations’, working together to construct learning cities. Its LILARA (Learning in Local and Regional Authorities) Project is currently auditing local authorities to discover the learning needs of local government employees vis-a-vis their role in the same process, and there are web-based learning materials to assist in this. ’Hot Topic’ papers, written by expert practitioners present the cutting edge. Conferences such as this one in Pecs, offer an opportunity to bring together experts and practitioners from all sides in productive debate.

 

 

All of them are stakeholders in the construction and maintenance of Learning Cities and Regions.

 

 

The extent to which a city and its people learn will be a measure of their ability to meet the challenges of the 21^st century in terms of prosperity, stability and the well-being of its citizens. That basic concept is emphasised in almost every report produced in the past 20 years. Many cities and towns do already aspire to improve the provision of learning and have installed new learning centres and publicity machines to encourage people to use them. Most local authority websites have a section devoted to lifelong learning. But few have understood that a learning city/region is one which involves everyone in the process of continuing personal development, contribution and decision-making, much in the same way that a learning organisation constantly involves its employees in quality improvement and decision-making at the appropriate point. Provision, support and exhortation are not enough. Learning Mindsets and methods also need to change.

 

Placing learning at the forefront of a city’s or region’s strategies and policies can engender a qualitative progression, but it entails much more than adjusting educational opportunities. Learning should pervade every aspect of local and regional government practice using the lifelong learning tools and techniques that help to stimulate people to develop their own potential to the full. There are tools and techniques to help with this, individual personal and professional continuing development programmes to put in place and learning materials to insert into these.

 

Based on the premise that every employee in local administration should, for example have a personal stake in the development of the authority as a learning entity, as should other stakeholders, the LILARA project, also the focus of a round table at the PASCAL Pecs conference, has already identified a huge reservoir of learning need in the six authorities with which it is working. Multiplied across the European continent, the demand is limitless. The European Commission’s policy paper on the local and regional dimension of lifelong learning puts it thus ‘‘No city or region can afford not to be a learning city or learning region if it wishes to develop future prosperity, maintain social stability and realise the potential of its citizens.’ (2). Local and regional government will need all the help it can get from PENR3L and PASCAL.

 

The project is

 

There are 7 partners in PENR3L, each of them liaising with their own local and regional authorities and establishing databases within a European region

 

As we all know the scope of new activities within learning cities and regions is wide. The following gives an indication of the topics that will be open for discussion

 

 

1. Characteristics of Learning Regions and Cities

2. Learning Organisations in a Learning Region

3. Stakeholders and their roles

4. Marketing and publicising Learning Cities and Regions

6. Employability, Employment, skills and learning etc

 

1. Creating a culture of learning – why? how? – breaking down barriers.

2. Consultation, involvement and democracy

3. Active Citizenship and volunteering

4. Environment, climate change and sustainable development

5. Continuous learning/development and support programmes

            Needs and requirements of cities and regions

These comprise an eclectic and comprehensive set of sub-themes. However, they are not complete. Each delegate to the workshops will bring his/her own knowledge, experiences, expertise and ideas and will be encouraged to articulate these.

 

The workshops open with a keynote presentation that raises the issues to be discussed and summarises some of the initiatives, insights, tools and learning materials that have informed the learning city and learning region movement in the previous 8 years.  

 

In addition. the three themes above will give rise to a keynote which outlines the state of the art in that theme and gives examples of good practice.  

 

However, by attending the workshops, it is intended that everyone will be both teacher and learner. The formal presentations are kept to a minimum, and active solution sessions in which smaller groups discuss, and create an action agenda for, specific aspects of learning city/region practice will predominate Delegates will share ideas, experiences, knowledge and their hopes and needs for the future in an atmosphere of productive dialogue. This will be no talk shop. Some exercises to stimulate mental energy and creative thought will be used. The objective of establishing a working European Network, with links to global expertise and practice that can continue to provide a dynamic forum for all for years to come, will be met.  

 

The project web-site is based at www.penr3l.pte.hu

 

For more information on PASCAL and PENR3L, please contact Professor Michael Osborne on penr3l@stir.ac.uk or Professor Norman Longworth on longworthnorman@aol.com

  

PASCAL International conference ‘ Lifelong Learning in the City-Region, September 23-25 2007, please see website www.pascal2007conf.pte.hu

 

Commission of the European Union, (2001) ‘The Local and Regional Dimension of Lifelong Learning, creating learning cities, towns and regions,’ European Policy paper’(N Longworth, author), DG Education and Culture, Brussels

 

Duke C, Doyle, LE and Wilson B (eds) (2005), ‘Making Knowledge Work – Sustaining learning communities and regions’. NIACE UK

 

Duke C, Osborne M and Wilson B eds (2005), Rebalancing the Social and Economic – Learning Partnerships and Place’ NIACE UK

 

Longworth N (2006), ‘Learning Cities, Learning Regions – Lifelong Learning and Local Government’ (Taylor and Francis) available through www.longlearn.org.uk/book4.html/

 

LONGLEARN Active Learning Materials on Learning Cities and Regions from www.longlearn.org.uk/materials