ALA’s charitable arm, the Learning Changes Lives Foundation, supports the people who need it most to gain access to the life-changing capacity of education. In 2024, six recipients received prizes funded by the Foundation during Adult Learners Week. Ting Xu, Glen Eira Learning Centre (Victoria) (pictured left) Ting Xu connected with the Glen Eira Adult […]
Meet the four outstanding adult learners who are this year’s scholarship winners. John Lindsay, South Australia 61-year-old River Ngarrindjeri man, John Lindsay, really liked being at school but always struggled with learning – “I could never concentrate on anything”. Despite not being able to read or write, John moved from primary to secondary school before […]
When the University of the Third Age (now known as U3A) started in 1984, it is unlikely that anyone was predicting that in its 40th year, there would be over 260 groups across Australia meeting the needs and interests of more than 100,000 members. But that is what is happening now – every week, across […]
Mary Veldhuis has been convenor of the Launceston School for Seniors for the past five years and has never found it hard to find an interesting and willing speaker. Run through Libraries Tasmania’s Adult Education program, School for Seniors provides an opportunity for older people, usually retired, to meet and hear from volunteer guest speakers. […]
Former ALA President and Vice-President, Chris McCall, retired from the ALA Board at this year’s AGM after completing the maximum nine-year term. We took the opportunity to talk to Chris about her long sector experience. Now managing the Yarraville Community Centre as it approaches its 50th anniversary, Chris is the embodiment of a learner who […]
We have three impressive new Board members to introduce. Tim Catterall After many years’ governance and management experience within the adult education sector, NSW based Tim Catterall, has recently become an adult learner himself. And the good news is that his current study of teaching literacy in adult and vocational education won’t take him away […]
Women of all ages and backgrounds come from across Melbourne, including many from outer suburbs, to be part of the community being built by the River Nile Learning Centre (RNLC) in a welcoming and engaging inner north office building. Some have recently arrived in Australia, including individuals from detention on Nauru and Christmas Island. Many […]
From a remote island off the north coast of mainland Australia, an Indigenous-owned and run organisation is providing local Yolngu people with training for a career in furniture making and joinery. The Manapan Academy, established in 2019, is also transforming the lives of locals on an island that has traditionally struggled to offer training and […]
ALA’s newest board member, Isabel Osuna-Gatty, began her career in adult literacy provision while still living in her home country of Venezuela. Isabel said that she had always wanted to become a literacy teacher, fuelled by an innate belief that education and skills enable people to live fulfilling lives. ‘I speak to First Nations people, […]
Elaine Butler has been working in and advocating for the adult and community education sector for more than four decades. So, she has seen an enormous amount of change in that time. And while she says there have been a lot of ups and downs, she remains buoyed about the future of the sector. ‘There […]
Adult Learners Week is celebrated across Australia. Three celebrations were chosen to showcase.
Every year, a small group of extra-impressive learners are chosen as Adult Learners Week Ambassadors. Meet the 2023 cohort.
Meet the five outstanding adult learners who are this year’s scholarship winners
Speakers at the launch of Adult Learners Week 2023 were living embodiments of the Week’s It’s never too late theme.
The Westcoast Reader is a Canadian newspaper that adapts the news for readers who want to improve their English reading and language skills.
