In three diverse locations in Australia, a new Indigenous education program conceived in the US is achieving unprecedented success in engaging mothers of Indigenous newborns. Quest travelled to central Australia to meet program worker, Carmel Barry and participant, Sylvia Drover. Sylvia arrives to tell her story at the Old Telegraph Station on the parched red […]
The 52nd Adult Learning Australia national conference was held in Byron Bay last October. Byron Region Community College hosted over one hundred participants in a very successful event exploring Lifelong Learning = Resilient Communities. College Director, Richard Vinycomb set the scene, followed by Professor Barry Golding, whose global perspective on adult learning made a compelling […]
Attracting and keeping positive committee members The Spiers Centre is a not for profit charitable organisation that provides a variety of programs to support predominantly low income families and individuals of all ages and cultures in the northern suburbs of Perth. Five years ago, it was called Granny Spiers Community House and could not […]
Adult Learning Australia congratulates the winners of its 2012 annual awards, presented at the recent national conference in Byron Bay. Australian Adult Educator of the Year Sue Ross WEA, Adelaide Sue has been the CEO of the iconic WEA in Adelaide for many years, during which time she has been a fierce advocate for […]
ALA is delighted to welcome professional facilitator and popular media personality, Julie McCrossin, as one of our new Ambassadors. 1. Thank you for becoming an Ambassador for Adult Learning Australia. Why did you decide to take on the role? I am very happy to take on the role of Ambassador and do anything I can […]
Neighbourhood Houses across Victoria will benefit from almost $700,000 in funding from the Victorian Coalition Government announced today by Minister for Community Services Mary Wooldridge. Forty-five Neighbourhood Houses and Neighbourhood House Networks will receive funding through the Creating Modernised and Inclusive Neighbourhood Houses program. Ms Wooldridge said organisations were encouraged to apply for funding to […]
Leading Australian construction company Brookfield Multiplex is to throw its might behind an innovative program to tackle one of the most pressing social issues facing Aboriginal people today, low adult literacy. The group is helping to establish a not-for-profit Foundation called Literacy for Life to lead the roll out of the National Aboriginal Adult Literacy […]
Tribute to Jack McDonell 25-2-26—10-8-12 The staff and board of Adult Learning Australia were deeply saddened to hear of the passing of former ALA board member John ‘Jack’ McDonnell on the 10th August 2012 in Prahran, Melbourne. Born 25th February 1926 in Bendigo, Victoria, Jack was made an Awarded Member of an Order of […]
With the rapid rise of online marketing many adult education providers have begun to ask—do we still need to produce a printed brochure? Trends from the US show that print brochures continue to out-perform the alternatives and encourage more frequent online purchasing, but many others believe that print brochures are a thing of the […]
The WEA in Adelaide is one of Australia’s most successful ACE organisations and Denis Binnion was at its helm for almost 20 years. This May, he was made a member for the Order of Australia in the Queen’s Birthday Honours list. Denis Binion became involved in adult education in the 1970s teaching evening classes in […]
We are delighted to announce that Senator Ursula Stephens has agreed to join Adult Learning Australia as an Ambassador. Ursula has been a Senator for NSW since 2001 and Parliamentary Secretary for Social Inclusion and the Voluntary Sector since 2007. Before entering parliament, she was involved in adult and community education, after training as a primary and […]
President of ALA, Professor Barry Golding will be offering a ‘big picture’ view of adult learning in Australia during his presentation at ALA’s national conference next month. Quests speaks with him about the fascinating and at times concerning trends he intends to discuss. 1. In your presentation for the ALA conference, you will be […]
Community colleges and learning centres are crucial to the Australian Government’s national training reforms and are a vital part of many local communities. Addressing the 2012 Community Colleges Australia Conference in Melbourne, Parliamentary Secretary for Skills Sharon Bird said community education had an important role in shaping the nation’s workforce. “The Australian Government is ramping […]
Employers, industry representatives and adult literacy and numeracy specialists cametogether at the annual Australian Workplace English Language and Literacy (WELL)Practitioners’ Conference in Brisbane on the 9th November Parliamentary Secretary for Higher Education and Skills, Sharon Bird, addressed theconference, affirming the high regard in which the Australian Government’s WELLprogram is held and its role in opening […]
