Workshop sessions

Inspired by what they had heard from the speakers, delegates then embarked on the main business of the conference - a series of workshop sessions. Faced with a choice of eleven interesting possibilities, the difficulty for many was how to narrow this down to only two. New technologies and widening participation, learning and the private sector, measuring added value of learning communities and partnerships, and marketing learning opportunities were just a few of the topics on offer. Other workshops covered a review of regeneration projects, engaging and informing the community, and skills for neighbourhood renewal.

The international dimension was explored in 'Learning Cities and Regions in Europe and North America', while 'Towards an Urban Renaissance' looked at how learning can enable the urban renaissance to flourish. The issues facing Learning Partnerships, the progress they have made and their key role in taking forward the Government's social inclusion and regeneration agendas came up for scrutiny in the workshop run by Terry Laws, Operations Director of Southern Derbyshire Chamber, Alan Davies, Head of Learning Partnerships at the DfEE and Mike Campbell of Leeds Metropolitan University. Partnership was seen as very much a 'process', rather than a 'structure' and the question was how partnerships should adapt in a time of continuous change.

Creative and cultural industries can provide a highly successful means of motivating people and creating a climate for regeneration. This theme was explored in the workshop led by Ruth Mackenzie, Special Adviser to Chris Smith, the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport. Stephen Allen, Chair of the Group for Education in Museums, explained how his own museum, the Grange Museum of Community History in the London Borough of Brent, was developing to become a learning centre for the local community. Al Dix, Cultural Plan Consultant, Greenwich Millennium Office, then described how the Dome has created a climate in Greenwich where cultural activities are now placed at the centre of the borough's regeneration.

Al Dix