Session 6 – 12th April – 14.15 – 15.05

Title:      Diversity in Widening Participation: Can we really include every group in the project?

Presenters: Ian Jones, Merthyr tydfil County Borough Council & Kim Polistina, School of Applied Sciences, University of Glamorgan

Initiative: Community Partnership Project - Outdoor learning

Summary:

This presentation will discuss the nature of widening participation from a lifelong learning perspective.   The discussion will focus on current and previously successful projects designed to increase participation in personal and community learning for a range of age groups and backgrounds.   These projects will be drawn from both research and practice.  Links between the university, community sector, government departments and industry will be addressed in relation to project areas such as outdoor learning, environmental regeneration and adult education.  The complexity of multi-organisational partnerships will be discussed in relation to matters concerning sub-cultural and cultural diversity, logistics and time management.  The ability to provide space for disparate worldviews, values and beliefs to be catered for in project outcomes will also feature in the discussions.

Examples of projects to be discussed:

• Research Project – Non-formal and informal outdoor learning through community-based outdoor leisure.
• Community Partnership Project – Lifelong learning Campus Project - Lifelong learning through the outdoors.