Irish Learning Cities Day

The Irish Network of Learning Cities goes live on September 30th 2020 today in a five city joint initiative to promote learning across the cities, the city regions and the island of Ireland.

In 2019, the Lord Mayors of Cork, Dublin and Belfast and the Mayors of Limerick and Derry City and Strabane Region formally signed an agreement to commit each city to work together and provide mutual support to help deliver on the vision of a Learning City for all citizens.

The Memorandum of Understanding between Cork City, Dublin City, Limerick City and County, Belfast City and Derry City and Region highlighted “a shared dedication to strengthening friendly relations and enhancing cooperation between the peoples of the cities and city regions… to carry out Learning City exchanges focused on the principles of the UNESCO Global Network of Learning Cities.

At the heart of a vision of a learning city is the commitment to using learning to improve the lives of all citizens, regardless of age or background. Learning can be used to create a more equitable and inclusive society, a more sustainable and healthy society and create inclusive opportunities for decent work and entrepreneurship. All member cities have adopted the UNESCO Guidelines for Building Learning Cities and are members of the UNESCO Global Network of Learning Cities (GNLC).

In this innovative “Irish Learning Cities Day” on September 30th, the five learning cities and regions are working together to show how the Network benefits all five cities and adds value to the efforts of individual cities.  Now, more than ever, it’s easier to access the learning opportunities provided by other cities – in Limerick we are running our first Virtual Lifelong Learning Festival this week from Sept 28 – Oct 4, why not click into the programme on www.limerick.ie/lovelearning and see what’s on offer?  Check out the links from the other cities too!

As part of Limerick Lifelong Learning Festival 2020, the Limerick Community Education Network (LCEN) and Limerick and Cork Learning Neighbourhoods are coming together in the afternoon of Irish Learning Cities Day for an online interactive workshop. They will share their experiences of Learning Neighbourhoods; present examples of good practice and look at ongoing development of Learning Neighbourhoods in Limerick and Cork.

As a network we want to work together to celebrate learning, highlight what’s on offer across the cities and city regions and we want to celebrate the achievements of learners.  Please use our social media channels, facebook, Twitter and Instagram to keep up to date with what’s happening, please join in and let us hear your stories and tell us about the opportunities in your area/organisation.  We want to put some fun back into learning and encourage everyone to try something new!

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