Learning Communities Catalyst

1. Title: What is/was the initiative?

The Festival of Learning from the last week in August and the first week in September

2. Where is/was it?

This Festival is held mainly in Albury and Wodonga

3. When was it?

The Festival was initiated in 1999 and has continued on an annual basis since that time.

4. What is/was it about?

The Festival is a celebration of learning opportunities, of specific learning events and of learning achievements.

5. What type of initiative is/was it?

Originally conceived as a one off event, this program is now an ongoing activity.

6. Who is/was the 'driver' of the initiative?

Wodonga Learning City initiated the program. Now under the Albury Wodonga Learning City banner, it is planned and run by a separate organising committee.

7. Which stakeholders are/were involved?

An array of groups sit on the Organising Committee, ranging from Local Government, Schools, TAFE, Universities, Disability Groups, Libraries, Environment groups, other community representatives, media, Seniors, Small Business and neighbourhood centres.

8. How is/was the initiative resourced?

The Festival is run on the "smell of an oily rag". The Festival receives a small financial grant, initially from the City of Wodonga and now from the Victorian Adult Community and Further Education Board and is generally used for promotional purposes.

The activities held within the Festival are resourced by the Groups themselves and therefore are an in-kind contribution.

9. What did the initiative seek to achieve?

The Festival is designed to:

• highlight the broader notion of learning as opposed to the narrower view of education
• publicise learning opportunities
• celebrate learning achievements particularly those "who achieved against the odds", those innovative learning achievements and those quiet "learning achievers"

10. How is/was it carried out?

The Festival is organised by a specific organising committee, and a framework for groups to participate. The main sponsors of the Festival are the media both paper and electronic. The Local paper prints the program as part of its daily publication as an in-kind contribution; TV and radio matched in-kind advertisements with paid advertisements. The media also contribute with reports, news items, articles, interviews and listings.

The program lists the events and people are encouraged to attend the activities. These activities range from University & TAFE Open days, workshops, lectures, discussion evenings, School Arts Festivals, media broadcasting, Community Groups Open activities, Re-enactments, Learning Awards, guidance and advice sessions, Factory visits, bus tours, etc.

Over 50 groups participate in the actual festival and in 2004 Festival over 2,350 people participated.

11. What did it achieve? What could be done differently?

The Festival is an evolving program and is evaluated each year.

It suffers from a lack of resources. To make it an outstanding event, a financial contribution of say, $50,000 is required.