Keith Hammond – Summary Sheet

The learning society is the productive society.  The learning society is closely aligned to lifelong learning (LLL).  Learning throughout life or LLL means learning takes place everywhere, including the work place, refugee camps and local cultural centers.  Focusing on LLL and economic issues then means a transformation of the whole learning system.  Economic improvements can be made by adjusting existing systems here and there but real, long lasting change means moving the learning system on towards the learning society.

LLL is moving more and more towards the requirements of the global knowledge economy.  Knowledge production and exchange mark a turn towards outcomes, and student centered learning.  There is thus a cluster of shifts involved in LLL that signal the move towards improving economic and employment issues.  Economics is not just about business and providing more classes in entrepreneurship – though of course these courses can be beneficial if provided in areas where they are needed.  A blanket approach of simply providing business classes everywhere however may not shift the whole system onto full employment.

Employment issues are linked to issues of ITC.  Similarly, they are connected to the development of core skills – including those of creativity and languages, especially amongst women and marginalized groups.  Concentrations of high levels of social capital (not just aggregates of human capital) give economically

vibrant communities, where people live, learn and earn in a dynamic way.  This workshop looks at the example of other economies.  Turkey especially is making some extremely interesting changes in its move towards becoming an economically vibrant learning society.  Projects from Scotland and Ireland will be used as exemplars, several of which were visited by different teams from the LLIP project.  

Many of these issues require special attention in Palestine.  Checkpoints and a separation barrier slice up the West Bank.  Gaza is enclosed in a fortified electronic fence.   Nothing goes in or out of Palestine without approval from Israel.  These conditions cannot be ignored in any workshop on economics and employment.

Intended outcomes of these workshops:

·       An appreciation of a whole range of foci within the training and education system that can contribute to the move towards a learning society;

·        A grasp of the learning society being co-extensive with the economically vibrant society;

·        A full comprehension of the role of universities and learning networks in regional economic development;

·        An understanding of the way ITC and issues relating to women and access work with economic development; and

·        A working grasp of the possibilities that can be opened up moving systems towards a close relationship with change in the global knowledge economy.