The recent presentation of the inaugural GINCO Quality Awards 2012 is now avaliable to view below and also on YouTube.

Awards were presented to Grundtvig Course Organisers in three categories:

• Innovative use of ICT in all aspects of course delivery;
• Excellence in validating outcomes for participants;
• Quality of course content and pedagogy.

Validation of learning outcomes is of particular importance in the informal and non-formal adult education system since this sector focuses on adult learners who, at a possibly long distance from their original formal qualifications, need evidence of their further development of skills and social and personal competences.

The GINCO (Grundtvig International Network of Course Organisers) Network have now published their second major newsletter with a specific emphasis on issues of quality in Grundtvig course provision. It provides details of quality tools which GINCO are creating and also details of the GINCO Course Quality Award to be presented at the 3rd GINCO International Conference in Hasselt Belgium in September 2012.

National Reports from the R3L+ project on the state of the art in Learning Cities in Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Lithuania, Romania, Scotland and Sweden, together with regional/city reports from Germany, Bucharest, Dundee, Kaunas. Limerick, Lundaland and Pecs are now all available for download at this site.

The purpose of this blog is to disseminate information on the R3L+ project. R3L+ is funded under the multilateral stream of the Grundtvig arm of the EU Lifelong Learning Programme.