© UNESCO
Unlocking the Potential of Urban Communities: Case Studies of Twelve Learning Cities showcases cities in different parts of the world that are embracing lifelong learning for all. The book explores how the learning city approach can be used to unlock citizens’ potential, focusing on the experiences of twelve cities from all five UNESCO regions: Melton (Australia), Sorocaba (Brazil), Beijing (China), Bahir Dar (Ethiopia), Espoo (Finland), Cork (Ireland), Amman (Jordan), Mexico City (Mexico), Ybycuí (Paraguay), Balanga (Philippines), Namyangju (Republic of Korea) and Swansea (United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland). These cities will be celebrated at the book’s launch at the 2nd International Conference on Learning Cities (ICLC), which will take place in Mexico City from 28 to 30 September 2015. Join us there and help shape the future of learning cities!
Cork - A community based approach
"Building a learning city falls under the heading ‘Skills and human capital’ of our current Cork City Development Plan 2015–2021, which promises that the council will work with the education and training sectors to develop the skills of its people to match the needs of existing and future businesses. Learning is therefore seen as crucial in meeting not only the individual’s needs but also the city’s economic and developmental goals." - Ms Mary Shields, Mayor of Cork
As the second-largest city in Ireland and the main economic driver in its region, Cork has a strong learning infrastructure that includes two major higher education institutions (University College Cork [UCC] and Cork Institute of Technology [CIT]), three of the state’s five largest colleges of further education, a wide range of complementary and second-chance education opportunities, and initiatives tackling educational disadvantage in both formal and community settings. The city council has been committed to developing Cork as a learning city since 2002 and formally adopted the Beijing Declaration on Building Learning Cities in 2014. Cork has developed many initiatives that work towards this aspiration. One of these is the Lifelong Learning Festival, which runs annually and has grown each year since its establishment in 2004. Furthermore, Cork enjoys an international profile as a learning city thanks to its membership of PASCAL International Exchanges (PIE), a project that fosters exchange on lifelong learning between local, community and city organizations throughout the world.
Read about the other cases here.
