I recently posted a note about the Cork and Limerick Lifelong Learning Festivals in the context of an article by the co-ordinators of both festivals in the current issue of the Irish Adult Learner 2013 journal. My note mentioned that Bad Tölz in southern Germany has conducted very successful learning and health festivals for some years. Information on the Bad Tölz festivals is now available in the attached short paper by Denise Reghenzani-Kearns and Romina Prudent. Romina served as adviser to the Bad Tölz festivals during the years that her husband Rolf Prudent was manager of the festivals.

The Bad Tölz learning and health festivals are particularly interesting in being conducted as separate festivals in alternative years with a structured approach that brings key themes in each area to the notice of the community. Examples are given in the attached paper of important themes in each area brought into recent festivals.

The Bad Tölz festivals were initially funded under the German Government’s ‘Learning Regions Promotion of Networks program. However, the success of the festivals enabled them to achieve financial viability so that they continued after government funding ended. A feature of their success lay in the effective communication and promotion strategies adopted so that they attracted people to the festivals across southern Germany.

Further information is available on the German Government’s funding of programs to foster learning regions and cities in a paper by Denise which is included among the Precedings papers for the EU/PASCAL Hong Kong conference. Information is also available on the web site of the German Ministry of Education and Science on lifelong learning. The articlke on Irish lifelong learning festivals suggests that these festivals may be seen, over time, as making a useful contribution to building a sustainable learning culture in a city.