Colin Neilands

What a great day for #LifelongLearning on the island of Ireland with Belfast and Dublin named as 2021 UNESCO Learning Cities. With headquarters in both cities @OUBelfast and @OUIreland and students in every county, we’ll be having a double celebration! #BorderlessEducation

Pleased to see mention of @LearnWorkUK @ocnni report on skills in Northern Ireland. Great to be working with @aontas @SLPLearn @NeilandsColin through Network for Adult Learning Across Borders. learningandwork.org.uk/resources/rese…

Powerful input to #SharedIsland dialogue by @aontas CEO @DrNiamhOReilly stressing the importance of community education and flagging AONTAS new report on the decline on lifelong learning participation in Northern Ireland aontas.com/knowledge/news…

Great work on the report "Live Well Learn Well" @NeilandsColin @BelfastLearning "A lack of investment in community learning is a lack of investment in the health of communities" - how do we join budgets more effectively?

Today marks the start of the 15th annual Adult Learners’ Festival. Will you join one of the many online workshops, open days or seminars organised by #AdultLearning organisations nationwide?🎨🌱☕️🧑‍🍳🌻🎭 Tell us about your experience–tag @aontas & use the hashtag #BetterTogether!

As part of the Adult Learners' Festival 2021, AONTAS' Policy Day event will bring #NALAB members together to discuss our shared vision for #EducationalEquality, exploring the approaches taken in response to #COVID19. #BetterTogether Register now➡️aontas.com/events/policy-…

Interesting, positive article ‘@UIL is claiming that participation in their Global Network for Learning Cities can help cities & regions develop more resilient education systems that will be essential for dealing with the pandemic’ @corklearning @LimkLearnFest @BelfastLearning

It is 20 years since the White Paper on Adult Education & I believe this is one of the biggest investments in #CommunityEducation since then There’s learning from the process too & more effective mechanisms for sustainable funding needed into the future aontas.com/knowledge/blog…

@OsborneTweets And E+ was not just for Uni students. Our FE Colleges ran fantastic programmes and there was a small but important pot of money for adult learning and some women's centres such as Kilcooley and Ballybeen were very successful in running transnational projects

The Erasmus programme is like a battle for the future soul of a country or region. Young people learn about tolerance and diversity, respect and embrace other cultures. Delighted NI stays in, helped by Irish Govt, but it's a pyrrhic victory elsewhere for those who don't want it.

@DrNiamhOReilly @SLPLearn @nealerichmond @SimonHarrisTD @forum_learning @JohnMDArcy @aontas We can talk about messagi g to ministers north and south Niamh so it's not just HE that is supported. FE colleagues here will also want to back wider inclusion

@SLPLearn @nealerichmond @SimonHarrisTD The ERASMUS+ programme is vital for supporting adult & #communityeducation in N Ireland. Essential for inclusion. Support is needed. @forum_learning @JohnMDArcy @NeilandsColin @aontas #SharedIsland #NALAB

After the #Brexit vote, we committed to never leave the Irish citizens of the North behind again. I spoke with @SimonHarrisTD about how students in Northern Ireland will continue to have access to #ErasmusPlus despite the news earlier that the U.K. will no longer participate.

@SLPLearn @DrNiamhOReilly @forum_learning Terrible decision and I'm sure whatever this alternative he's come up with will offer nothing for adult learning. But as you say Fiona we just have to make sure we don't lie back and accept this as irreversible

@DrNiamhOReilly @forum_learning @NeilandsColin Won't go down well here or with University colleagues-short sighted and strange decision-sure we could do some persuasion techniques-we can but try..

No to #Erasmus- the negative impact this will have on adult learners across the #UK. Particularly thinking of our colleagues in N Ireland, so much #adultlearning depends on this & #ESF funding. Continued support is vital #BrexitDeal @forum_learning @NeilandsColin @SLPLearn #NALAB

@LWJoyceB @LearnWorkUK @EAEA2020 @EBSNhq @EPALE_EU Wishing every happiness for the future Joyce

My final tweet as @LWJoyceB & my final day at @LearnWorkUK before I retire. It’s been a pleasure & a privilege to work with great people on an agenda I will continue to be passionate about @EAEA2020 @EBSNhq @EPALE_EU Keep up the fantastic work!

AONTAS are hiring a new EU Projects Officer. Are you passionate about adult learning, social justice and European cooperation? Do you have experience managing EU funded programmes? #jobfairy #lifelonglearning @aontas #AdultLearning please apply here: activelink.ie/vacancies/educ…

Third recent @EPALE_UK blog on learning for older people in Northern Ireland bit.ly/PositiveAgeing…

Here is another @EPALE_UK blog on older people and learning - by Alexandra Withnall (who has also written on the subject for an upcoming report I'm helping compile on Adult Learning and Health and Wellbeing as part of the UK's EAAL Prog - @LearnWorkUK ) bit.ly/LaterLifeLearn…

Great to hear from Alan Milson @EPALEUK2020 re family learning in Scotland. Wish family learning could win more support here in NI

Interesting report #CommunityEd in England⬇️ “Put simply, ACE transforms people’s lives. As the COVID-19 crisis continues to grip our communities, it is a more important lifeline than ever before. It is the cornerstone of adult learning” ⁦@aontas⁩ local.gov.uk/learning-life-…

We had a fantastic project advisory group meeting this morning for the #EAAL @aontas & @EPALE_IE bringing stakeholders from across the sector together. The passion and commitment for #adultlearning continues. @EU_Commission @SOLASFET @ETBIreland @QQI_connect @NCGEGuidance

As part of my work for @EPALE_UK I was delighted to run a webinar last month on Older People and Learning. Here's a quick overview and hopefully there will be blogs from other contributors shortly. lnkd.in/dQubSUC