Wherever we live, the level of anxiety about the future is probably greater now than it was a year ago.  But let’s remember what PASCAL is: a global perspective on local possibilities.  I want to emphasize the word “possibilities”: These are limited by our imagination and creativity.  The populists want change too: they do not want poverty, but they want to undo globalization which has lifted people out of poverty; they do not want disease, but they want to block the efforts of governments and science to co-operate; they do not want ignorance but they do not question their assumptions. 

Ours is a struggle.  Many of us wished each other a new year with hope in the face of uncertainty. How can we get ahead when the problems we face – climate change, disparities, new democracies – have been years in the making? We need a full measure of lucidity to clear the mind, and then of reason to tackle problems that others think are unsolvable.

Looking back at 2018, PASCAL had one of its most successful conferences ever, in Suwon, Korea, with a focus on lifelong learning and with the participation of committed, enthusiastic people, many at a senior level, from Korea, around South East Asia, Australia, New Zealand, Europe, South Africa and America.  Entrepreneurship, the links between Sustainable Development Goals 4 and 11, place-making, and a stronger, multi-level approach to global citizenship were among the key issues highlighted at the conference. 

An ambitious set of Briefing Papers was prepared before the conference, and translated into Mandarin and Korean, and we are grateful to all involved, notably the city of Suwon, the National Institute for Lifelong Education (NILE) and Ajou University. These along with earlier papers are now being prepared for production in hard copy in Korean and English by NILE. Another outcome will be a book on role of study circles on learning in later life being prepared by NILE.

Looking ahead, the XVIth Conference will be held on 3-5 October 2019 at University College Cork, Cork City, Ireland with a special visit to the Skellig Centre for Research and Innovation on the south western  County Kerry coast  to include interactive sessions with stakeholders and community people. The theme could not be more relevant: “Learning for Resilience: People, Place and Partnership in Urban and Rural Communities.”

The annual conference is just one of many activities and meetings. In May 2018 we held a one-day workshop, “Making Learning Happen” in London at the Education Institute of University College London. One outcome is the initiative to launch a PASCAL European Network of institutions and partners. We hope to announce developments for the Network in the first semester of 2019.

In October, ‘Learning cities for a creative economy and sustainable development’ was the theme of a conference held in the City of Vitebsk, the first officially designated Learning City of the Republic of Belarus to which PASCAL delegates were invited to participate.   The City of Vitebsk together with DVV (the Institute for International Cooperation of the German Adult Education Association) and UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning (UIL) were responsible for organising this event.

Other co-sponsored PASCAL events included a seminar in Pecs, Hungary, "Learning Cities and Culture Working Together" in September and a day-long session on “Learning Cities and Transformative Learning” at the 13^th Biennial International Transformative Learning conference at Teachers College, Columbia University in New York City in November. Through these and other activities, the work of the Learning City Network continues to grow. 

Through a number of projects that have emanated from the historic work of PASCAL in mapping the regional engagement role of universities, a number of colleagues within the European Centre in Glasgow have been working with countries in the global south. The Strengthening the Urban Engagement of Universities in Asia and Africa (SUEUAA) project met in Manila in September, and included inputs from partners in Zimbabwe, South Africa, Tanzania, Iran, Iraq and the Philippines itself. Another project is mapping the regional engagement role of Technical and Vocational Education in the UK, Italy, Hong and Taiwan. A third project is analysing the contribution of smart cities to learning in cities in India and Kyrgyzstan.

Many organisations including the European Museum Academy, the UK’s Universities Association for Lifelong Learning (UALL), UIL,  NILE, DVV, the UNESCO Chair for Community-based Research and Social Responsibility, Participatory Research in Asia (PRIA) and other members of the Big Tent, and of course the PASCAL International Members Association (PIMA) are all committed partners. We look forward to further collaborations during the next year.

A number of other events other than our main conference are planned for 2019. The Israel learning city network plans to host a workshop on entrepreneurship. On 6-7 February PASCAL and the will hold the 2019 Kenneth Hudson seminar, “Cultural Policy and Literacy Development”.  The main question is how heritage institutions can create spaces where society contributes and actively creates heritage. Why? Because these cultural processes strengthen social cohesion and active citizenship. Please follow this link for more information and to register go to this link. SUEUAA will arrange its final conference in Harare in May.

This is just some of the work we plan, and we stand ready to respond to proposals and initiatives which make best use of PASCAL’s experience and talents.

We wish all our subscribers and supporters a very happy and prosperous 2019.

Josef Konvitz
Chair, PASCAL International Observatory