© UNESCO
Espoo (c) Suomen Ilmakuva
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!
Creating the Espoo Story together
"I have realized that whatever we do together with the residents is worthwhile. The strongest asset that Espoo has is its active people, enterprises, associations and communities. The goal is to build a sustainable future for well-being in everyday life. This is what being a renewable and learning city is all about." - Jukka Mäkelä, Mayor of Espoo
Learning city initiatives are playing an important role in the City of Espoo’s efforts to ensure the well-being and inclusion of its citizens. While Finland’s school system has long been admired internationally, Espoo nonethless faces some significant challenges in ensuring that all of its citizens avail themselves of lifelong learning opportunities. These challenges include a tight budget, a lack of suitable learning spaces and dramatic demographic and technological changes. The city has established numerous programmes that are addressing these challenges. The ultimate aim of these programmes is to foster competent and creative residents with a learning spirit who can function in an uncertain future.
Read about the other cases here.
