On Wednesday, November 7^th, 2018 over fifty people gathered at Teacher’s College, Columbia University and City Seminary New York to discuss the links between learning cities and transformation. More than 50 people from all around the world - including USA, Canada , Australia, Thailand, Japan, France, Italy, Denmark, Ireland and the UK - gathered together to share their research, practice, and perspectives on “empowering citizens and transforming communities.”

The seminar, which was also part of a transformative learning conference event at Columbia  enabled those attending the conference to meet with other members of PASCAL and PIMA.

The seminar was born out of LearnLong Institute (a lifelong learning focused thinktank) and the work the group has been doing to connect the fields of Transformative Learning and Learning Cities. The forth coming book, Adult Learning and Quality of Life (Co-edited by Leodis Scott, Connie Watson, Maria Liu Wong, and Aimee Tiu-Wu) will also integrate these two fields in many ways.

Dr. Rob Mark, PASCAL Observatory, set the stage in his keynote speech for conference attendees to join in the work being done around Learning Cities and connect to the many active members of PASCAL and UNESCO’s Global Network of Learning Cities. Following Dr. Mark’s address were two panel sessions on sustainability and entrepreneurship and then the group walked to Harlem and had lunch in the beautiful and engaging Wallis-Oritz Gallery and Center sponsored by the City Seminary of New York.

The afternoon break-out sessions were experiential and included engaging with art, meeting Harlem community members, and making space for deep and meaningful conversations with colleagues from around the globe.

The day ended with presentations from participants and the creation of a mind-map of the key topics brought up during the day. These included: the importance of building connections and meaningful relationships throughout a community, making time for inspiration, focusing on collaborative research in/with the community, leading community building activities, exploring the topics of humanity, identity, and diversity in one’s research and practice, doing more to learn about the “local wisdom and knowledge” and lastly, investigating the juxtaposition of “big cities and small villages.” Conference participants examined the links between transformation and lifelong earning engaging in discussions from a critical learning perspective.

Dr. Maria Liu Wong chaired the pre-conference committee and she (along with LearnLong Institute members) will be following up with attendees and other interested parties for further opportunities to continue the dialogue, research, and practical applications explored in the conference.

Our sincere appreciation for all who attended, our partner organizations (The International Transformative Learning Conference, City Seminary of New York, and PASCAL Observatory) and the pre-conference committee members including Dr. Tejwansh Anand, Dr. Pierre Faller, Dr. Rita Kenahan, Dr. Maria Liu Wong, Dr. Leodis Scott, Aimee Tui-Wu, Dr. Connie Watson.

Written by Dr Connie Watson, LearnLong Institute

Please also see "An American Encore Adult’s Reflections on Knowledge" by Edward Leary, M.D., MBA...

and also

International Transformative Learning Cities Pre-Conference (to the International Transformative Learning Conference): Transforming cities, communities and ourselves (Dr Catherine Lido)...

LearnLong Institute for Education and Learning Research is a non-profit organization, operating exclusively for charitable purposes. Their vision is to ”sustain societies for serving our humanity and quality of life”, through “revitalizing Lifelong Learning,” and by advancing lifelong learning as an essential strategy for improving life and well-being.

Photos taken at Global Learning Cities conference in New York, November 7^th, 2018 (click to enlarge)