Lifelong Learning and Migration: Historical and contemporary perspectives

10^th International Conference on the History of Adult Education
Helsinki, Finland, 8-11 September 2005

Migration is one of the mega problems of our times. This conference will explore the lifelong and life wide learning challenges that are created by migration. These learning challenges have many aspects. Presenters and participants are invited to reflect on learning issues concerning migration in a broad sense.

Many migrants come from areas without systematic adult education and can only be fully integrated in their new homes by participating in a really practical lifelong learning. An increasing number of states have obliged the migrants to participate in various learning processes to learn language and life in the new country, - otherwise the migrants will not be accepted as citizens. In fact, the systems of lifelong learning are often not yet prepared to offer enough measures of integration.

The different situations and legal regulations in the new home-countries of migrants should be described. We must be informed about the educational traditions and habits which migrants bring with them from their original homes. It must be regarded, that many migrants are coming from countries without a democratic structure and are accustomed to an authoritarian policy and education. Learning democracy should be an essential task of mental integration.

Migration can be discussed in legal and institutionalised perspectives, but also in a biographic and individual perspective. What are the life wide learning processes that individuals go through without formal institutions and programs? What are the cognitive, emotional, social and cultural dimensions that individuals experience? What does it mean to old and young people, to families, to men and women? What happens to identity and biography?

In Europe popular education (‘Volksbildung´) in the 19th century aimed only to strengthen the cultural and political nationality of one people (like in Denmark in the time of N.F.S. Grundtvig), and also in some decades of the 20th century, adult education was exclusively national education instead of multicultural and multiethnic education which is praxis today. Up to now adult educational science has not enough investigated all in this field of problems.

Presenters are encouraged to contribute to this wide field of contents with theoretical reflections as well as empirical research or "best-practice", but also "mistakes-to-learn-from" can be presented.

CONFERENCE BACKGROUND

The International Conferences on the History of Adult Education have convened regularly (every two years). Venues to date have been Oxford (1986), Aachen (1988), Jerusalem (1990), Strobl (1992), Brdo (1994), Jena (1996), Dundee (1998), Pécs (2000) and Leiden (2002).
These meetings have been international events for persons who are interested in the history of adult education, training and lifelong learning. Since the Leiden Conference the aim has been to bring in more and more practitioners to a dialogue with researchers. The conferences seek to work through key problems in educating adult learners in an age of globalisation. This involves taking both a historical and contemporary look at the professional contexts of adult education and lifelong learning in various countries all over the world.

The organisers

The International ESVA Foundation (IESVA) is a grass‑roots non‑profit organisation under Netherlands law. It has an international board, and its secretariat is established in Helsinki since autumn 2004.

ESVA is the acronym for the European Symposium on Voluntary Associations, being an international network of researchers, practitioners and others interested in the role of voluntary associations, often called NGOs, as learning environments. The International ESVA Foundation presents, furthermore, the IESVA Comenius Award for outstanding performance in adult education. For more information, please go to www.sfv.fi/esva.

SFV Association

The main task of the SFV (Svenska Folkskolans Vänner) Association is to promote and support adult education and culture in Finland, and is of great importance for the Swedish-speaking minority. It was established as early as in 1882 and since then it has developed into a significant organisation having about 10 000 members. Today the main activities of the SFV Association are to maintain Folk High Schools, comprehensive schools, domestic NGOs, institutions and cultural events. The organisation also grants scholarships to students. For more information, please go to www.sfv.fi/esva.

EAEA Budapest Link Office

The EAEA (European Association for the Education of Adults) is an NGO with about 100 national, regional and local member organisations in 34 European countries working in the field of adult education. It promotes adult learning and the widening of access and participation in formal, non-formal and informal adult education for all. It has a main office in Brussels that co-ordinates its work programme and maintains contacts with EU institutions as well as with European and international organisations. EAEA has also a number of link offices that fulfil several functions. The Budapest Link Office works with partners in East Central and Eastern Europe providing support in networking, conceiving projects, furthering co-operation and promoting adult education and learning in the countries involved. For more information, please go to www.eaeabudapest.hu .

CONFERENCE COMMITTEE

A committee is in charge of the conference´s organisation consisting of

• Dr. Christoffer Grönholm, SFV Association
• Dr. József Katus, IESVA
• Dr. János Sz. Tóth, EAEA Budapest Link Office
• Director Björn Wallén, Swedish Study Centre in Finland
• Professor Jost Reischmann, Bamberg University
• Assistant Christine Romberg, secretary, SFV Association

SCIENTIFIC COMMITTEE

Professor Jost Reischmann is in charge of the Scientific Committee. The Scientific Committee is responsible for the selection of papers to the publication in the series Studies in Pedagogy, Andragogy, and Gerontagogy of Peter Lang Europäischer Verlag der Wissenschaften, edited by Professor Dr. Franz Pöggeler.

Call for abstracts

The Conference Committee calls for abstracts for papers focusing either on practices or on scientific issues on the above defined themes. Key-words: adult education, migration, lifelong and life wide learning.

ABSTRACTS

You are invited to submit an abstract addressing one or more of the conference themes. Abstracts should be no more than one side of A4 paper in length (font 12). The deadline for abstracts is May 2^nd , 2005 .

Please submit abstracts as two separate documents: one includes the paper title, the name, address, e-mail of each author; and the second one includes the paper title and a one-page abstract. Send them as e-mail attachments to the Conference Secretariat.

Papers

Complete papers of both categories (practitioners experiences or scientific research) should be submitted by July 15^th , 2005 and sent to the Conference Secretariat.

All papers will be downloadable in PDF-format from the dedicated Conference website.

Publication

Selected papers will be published in the series Studies in Pedagogy, Andragogy, and Gerontagogy of Peter Lang Europäischer Verlag der Wissenschaften, edited by Professor Dr. Franz Pöggeler. The Conference Committee will be responsible for the first selection of these papers. The Scientific Committee will do the final selection. The publication will include both practitioners and scientific papers.

Information for contributors of abstracts

Abstracts

• A paper is proposed and submitted in the form of an abstract by one person. Up to three other people can be named as co-authors in the abstract proposal.
• For each participant, a maximum of two such proposals may be submitted in which the person is named as an author.
• The abstract proposal must indicate which of the named authors will be presenting the paper.
• The author or one of the named authors is responsible for communicating with the Conference Secretariat about the paper.
• The time available in a parallel session will be 45 minutes of which normally 20 minutes is for presentation and 25 minutes for questions and discussion.
• Where possible, the Conference Secretariat will schedule the paper with two others on a similar theme.
• The conference organizers will allocate a chairperson and a discussant for each paper.

Criteria for Review of Abstracts

Abstracts for papers are welcome from all fields of adult education and adult learning in any historical period or region of Europe. However, papers dealing with migration are also welcome if they relate to the role of adult education. Practitioners´ papers should focus on good practices. The criteria used in reviewing each abstract will be as follows:

• should be directly related to the specific aspects of the history of adult education and adult learning in the 2005 conference;
• should specifically address historical and/or contemporary issues of adult learning and migration.
• should take account of the historical and/or contemporary dynamics of change in the European context (even if the theme is migration).
• should enable a European dialogue to develop by reference, for example, to intellectual and educational traditions or to current issues of adult learning and migration.

In addition, scientific papers

• should make reference to an analytic and conceptual framework, involve systematic historical or social scientific inquiry of an empirical nature, or be based on literature research;
• should set out clearly the background, the research reported, the research methods, the major results and implications in a manner which is accessible to a diverse European audience.

Language

The abstract, the paper and its presentation should be in English.

Simultaneous translation will not be available in plenary sessions.

Please bear in mind when presenting a paper that you are speaking to an international audience, the majority of whom may not be familiar with your own country and its history let alone its adult educational system. Please avoid the use of acronyms and do not use expressions that relate to your own adult educational system on a local or national level without providing a contextualisation.

PROVISIONAL CONFERENCE PROGRAMME

(Note that the final programme will be distributed to participants on the day of arrival).

Thursday, 8 September

Arrival in Helsinki

14.00 - 16.00 Registration at G18-building

16.00 Opening and reception

18.30 Welcome-dinner at G18-building

Friday, 9 September

10.00 -12.00 Plenary sessions and discussion

12.30 -13.30 Lunch

13.30 -16.30 Workshops

17.30-19.00 Helsinki Sightseeing by bus and by boat

19.30 Dinner at Heureka, the Finnish Science Centre in Vantaa

host, prof. Per-Edvin Persson

Saturday, 10 September

10.00 -12.00 Plenary session and discussion / workshops

12.30 -13.30 Lunch

13.30 -16.30 Workshops

19.00 Farewell Party at G18-building

Sunday, 11 September

10.00 - 11.00 Plenary session

11.00 - 12.00 Comenius Lecture

12.00 Closing ceremonies

13.00 Lunch

Departures

CONFERENCE SECRETARIAT

SFV Association

Attn. Ms Christine Romberg

or Ms Catharina Gripenberg

P.O.B 198

00121 Helsinki

FINLAND

Phone: +358 9 6844 570

+358 9 6844 5712 (Christine Romberg)

+358 9 6844 5719 (Catharina Gripenberg)

Fax: + 358 9 6844 5715

E-mail: esva@sfv.fi

CONFERENCE WEBSITE

www.sfv.fi/esva

APPLICATION

The application deadline is August 1^st , 2005 .

Applications must be made on the enclosed form (one form per person). Please feel free to make photocopies if needed.

Students are also welcome to participate in the Conference with a special fee. Please contact the Conference Secretariat for more information. Students need a recommendation from their professor or dean.

CONFERENCE VENUE

The 10^th International Conference on the History of Adult Education will take place at the new Cultural House in the centre of Helsinki (Georgsgatan 18 / Yrjönkatu 18). The Cultural House is called G18 and was built in 1884. The house is renovated at the moment and will be finished in the summer of 2005. The 10^th Conference will be the first international conference to be held in the building.

PARTICIPATION FEE: Euro 200

The participation fee includes meals, standard transports, visit to Heureka, the Finish Science Centre, conference material and Helsinki sightseeing.

PARTICIPATION FEE WITH ACCOMMODATION: Euro 350

Accommodation is arranged in the hotels mentioned below, mainly in double rooms. Please mention in the Application form with whom you may share a room. Ms Catharina Gripenberg is in charge of the hotel arrangements (catharina.gripenberg@sfv.fi).

Official Hotels:

Hotel Martta

Adress: Uudenmaankatu 24, 00120 Helsinki

Telephone: +358 9 618 7400

Fax: +358 9 618 7401

e-mail: info@marttahotelli.fi

Website: www.marttahotelli.fi

Hotel Anna

Adress: Annankatu 1,00120 Helsinki

Telephone: +358 9 616 621

Fax: +358 9 602 664

e-mail: info@hotelanna.fi

Website: www.hotelanna.fi

PAYMENT

Participation fee (with or without accommodation) is to be paid in Euro at the registration desk on the day of arrival or bank by transfer to account (IBAN) nr. FI 15 1562 3000 1169 07 Nordea Bank, Helsinki, Finland. Please give the reference: ESVA 10^th Conference. A copy of the payment is to be sent by fax to the Conference Secretariat.

On behalf of the Conference Committee, we welcome you to an interesting conference and to four wonderful days in beautiful Helsinki.

Christoffer Grönholm Christine Romberg

President of ESVA Foundation Secretary of Conference Committee