22 February 2007

`Unlocking the potential of a community'

Community education leaders from across Scotland gathered in Dundee today for a major conference discussing the latest methods of training and teaching people within their own communities.

The `Unlocking the Potential of a Community' event, at the West Park Conference Centre, was hosted by the University of Dundee, which is the lead partner in the National Consortium of Community Learning and Development Part-Time and Work-Based Training Consortium.

Over 100 people from community agencies, charities, voluntary organisations, government bodies and educational institutions attended the conference. The keynote speaker was Professor Karen Evans, of the Institute of Education, University of London, who gave a speech on the growing importance of lifelong learning.

"This is a really distinctive consortium in which Community Education at the University of Dundee is playing a lead role," said Professor Elizabeth Leo, Dean of the School of Education, Social Work and Community Education at Dundee.

"We are helping lead the way in developing new programmes of community education which are enabling people to gain greater access to professional qualifications through work-based and part-time learning. It is great to see so many employers and other agencies here today to see the impact this kind of learning and teaching is having in communities across the country."

For media enquiries contact:

Roddy Isles
Head, Press Office
University of Dundee
Nethergate Dundee, DD1 4HN
TEL: 01382 384910
E-MAIL: r.isles@dundee.ac.uk