Lifelong Learning Festival 2021 offers with an array of fun learning events for all

Lifelong Learning Festival 2021 – Pictured launching this year’s festival were, Mayor of Limerick City and County, Cllr. Michael Collins with learning Ambassadors, Tom Kearns, Chinazo Nnaya, Breda Butterfield and Patricia Sheehan. Picture: Alan Place.

Lifelong Learning Festival 2021 offers an array of fun learning events for all

Following the success of last year’s first fully virtual Festival, Limerick’s Lifelong Learning Festival returns this month with an even greater choice of events. 

This year’s Festival, which runs from Monday, May 24 – Sunday, May 30, marks the 11th year of the popular Festival. The festival has grown over the past 11 years and this is the second time for it to be run as a virtual festival.

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With a theme of “New Futures, New Adventures in Learning” and over 100 free online learning activities for people to enjoy, it has plenty to offer those seeking to learn something new.

Lifelong Learning Festival 2021 – Pictured launching this year’s festival were, Adrienne O’Connell, West Limerick Resources, Yvonne Lane, Learning Limerick, Margaret Murphy, National Learning Network and Mariola Jurewicz-Jurgas, PAUL Partnership. Picture: Alan Place.

This annual event has not let the ongoing pandemic impede it and continues to explore many different forms of learning. In fact, learning is not always in the classroom and there are now many opportunities for learning by doing and actively learning online.

With over 100 free workshops and events in this year’s programme, there is certainly something for everyone to choose from; Painting for Recreation and Pleasure, Politics in a Time of Crisis, Mindful Walking, Language tasters, Transition to Higher Education, a Virtual Self-Portrait Exhibition, a Community Wellness Activity Workshop and LinkedIn for Learning and Networking.

Using live-streamed events, panel discussions, interactive webinar workshops, and pre-recorded learning sessions, the Festival boasts a diverse range of topics, including Technology, Art; Wellbeing; Gardening; Cooking; Language Taster Sessions; Mindful Walking; Coding for Kids; The Workplace of 2030 and even Adventures with Chicken Pizza.

The flagship event of the Festival is a Panel Discussion with Limerick’s Learning Ambassadors taking place on the first day of the Festival, which will provide an excellent opportunity to hear about the positive impact of learning from people who have embraced lifelong learning in their daily lives. This event promises to be an exciting way to kick off the Festival.

One of the Learning Ambassadors, Lylian Fotabong, will be interviewing her fellow Ambassadors about their learning adventures and future plans for both their careers and continued learning. The interactive interviews will then be followed by a panel discussion to include Learning City partners from the Irish Network of Learning Cities.

The Festival showcases the role of learning throughout our lives, and the discussion will bring this to life as they tell their story of learning adventures.

Pictured launching this year’s festival were, Learning Ambassadors, Chinazo Nnaya and Patricia Sheehan with Mariola Jurewicz-Jurgas, PAUL Partnership. Picture: Alan Place.

The public again has so much to choose from this year across the week, and, as it is online, they can join events from wherever they are.

Mayor of the City and County Limerick Cllr Michael Collins said: “At the heart of the festival is the people in local communities the length and breadth of Limerick, who continue to support and attend the festival events.”

“We continue to celebrate the resilience of our local communities. I am particularly delighted to see our Learning Limerick Ambassadors running an event on the first day of the festival. This is a wonderful grassroots initiative that brings the Festival into the everyday lives of people and this can only be a good thing.”

Eimear Brophy, Limerick and Clare Education and Training Board, Chairperson of the Learning Limerick Steering Group said: “The festival also celebrates Limerick as a UNESCO Learning City-Region. The Learning Limerick Steering Group is a proud member and award winner of the UNESCO Global Network of Learning Cities (GNLC). This network supports and improves the practice of lifelong learning in the world’s cities. Running the festival with virtual elements offers the added advantage that a wider range of topics can be part of the programme and also attendees can come from anywhere, offering their unique perspective.

Providing the Festival as a virtual one offers the added opportunity of attendees from Limerick’s partner Learning Cities all around the world logging on to join the multiple programme events online. There truly is something to appeal to everyone.”

A complete list of events for each Lifelong Learning Festival 2021 is available HERE 

For more stories on Lifelong Learning Festival, go HERE