What we are about

The CMA in brief

Why a world committee for lifelong learning (CMA)?

Tn order to clarify this idea it is essential to develop networks and work in partnership. It is this human and social capital, beyond borders and cultures, in all its diversity, which enables us to bring alive the concept and to attempt to operationalise it in order to get a precise definition. The first stage of this project for reflection and action research is to pull together an inclusive, international network of people who are active in education, training and lifelong learning, in each country and on every continent.

It is about encouraging people to:

• take into consideration that whole being, within his or her social context has to face different learning situations,
• give credit to all of life’s moments for learning, including the time spent in school or in adult education,
• take account of context: each country could construct for itself responses to its own needs for knowledge and skills, being inspired by the achievements of other countries,
• understand the formative value of prioritising learning situations.

Each quarter, the committee organises a public lecture with a view to debating the notion of education, training and lifelong learning. To find out the time of the next lecture, see the events page.

The changing nature of learning

The idea of education, training and lifelong learning is not new. The ancient Greek Philosophers had already thought of this in the ‘ideal learning city’. Then the morave Comenius (1592-1670) spoke for the human ability to improve him/herself. He conceived the first real education system designed to ‘teach everything to everyone’. The trends of popular education and permanent education developed the idea of adult continuing education. In 1972 Edgar Faure announced in his report the birth of the ‘learning society’.

It is during the nineties that the idea of education and lifelong learning emerged, particularly in Jaques Delors’ report (1996), which lit the way for education in the 21st century. We are experiencing at this moment in time, profound changes brought about by a mixture of several phenomena:

• the increase in digitalisation in all sectors of society (work, home, leisure …);
• the increase in sources of knowledge that go beyond the school;
• he massive advancement in new educational technologies, particularly distance learning;
• the globalisation of exchanges through digital networks;
• the high increase in demand for education and training;
• the emergence of an education market;
• the recognition of the social being as a learner.

Education and lifelong learning is defined as a global concept for education which aims to include in the same dynamic process family education, initial education and all the adult continuing education systems, extra mural, professional development, general and cultural education. It includes not only formal education but also education known as non formal and informal, as well as learning by doing, professional experience and active citizenship.

The central question here is to know how to make a connection between all the different educational experiences, knowing that in the knowledge society anything can be a learning opportunity.

A huge platform is available for all education and training actors because although there is general consensus about the global idea of education it is still too often left at a theoretical level.

Yves ATTOU
President
April 2005