Return-Path: <nifl-womenlit@literacy.nifl.gov> Received: from literacy (localhost [127.0.0.1]) by literacy.nifl.gov (8.10.2/8.10.2) with SMTP id j2IHe1C21971; Fri, 18 Mar 2005 12:40:01 -0500 (EST) Date: Fri, 18 Mar 2005 12:40:01 -0500 (EST) Message-Id: <s23acbd5.074@mail.jsi.com> Errors-To: listowner@nifl.gov Reply-To: nifl-womenlit@literacy.nifl.gov Originator: nifl-womenlit@literacy.nifl.gov Sender: nifl-womenlit@literacy.nifl.gov Precedence: bulk From: "Laurie Sheridan" <laurie_sheridan@worlded.org> To: Multiple recipients of list <nifl-womenlit@literacy.nifl.gov> Subject: [NIFL-WOMENLIT:3197] Re: WE LEARN Conference X-Listprocessor-Version: 6.0c -- ListProcessor by Anastasios Kotsikonas Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII X-Mailer: Novell GroupWise Internet Agent 6.5.1 Status: O Content-Length: 4071 Lines: 99 Well, Ujwala, clearly our great minds think alike! I just read your response to the conference after sending along my own. We had so many of the same reactions! The main difference is that I loved your presentation and workshop, also, but you modestly did not mention them! It was very powerful for me, and I think for others, to hear of such promising and hope-inspiring work even in remote corners of Pakistan, and to be reminded of how much we have to learn from women's efforts in other countries. And, in these times of budget cutbacks and political setbacks, how much important and significant work can be done with so little. We need resources, but they aren't everything. Passion, will, organizing, and the work of women accomplish so much regardless of resouces, don't they? It was absolutely wonderful for me, as a relative newcomer to this field, to have the privilege to meet you and other women who have done pathbreaking work in this field, and actually to get to know you a little. Thank you for making the effort to be there, and for sharing so much of your work and hopes. And thanks especially to Mev, Lorna, and others at WE LEARN who made the huge effort to bring us together. I look forward to the next one . . . Laurie Sheridan, Workforce Development Coordinator World Education 44 Farnsworth St. Boston, MA 02210 (617) 482-9485 Ext. 509 lsheridan@worlded.org >>> lalumineuse@yahoo.com 03/18 12:19 PM >>> Right, since nobody else has taken a shot at it.. I will. I attended the conference and it was wonderful. I can't recommend it enough. I hope the next one will be even bigger, although my selfish side hopes it retains it's small group atmosphere. Silja and Andy gave a great talk on the status of adult ed, especially as it has been impacted by the budget cuts and how our groups will be affected: direly. Lots of room for reflection. (We also now know what they looked like as babies....) The speakers were super, it was a privilege to meet Mary Belenky who is as dynamic as her writing. Klare Allen is dynamite and hers is a life of courage and risks, was inspiring to hear her talk and Klaudia Rivera as well. One learns a lot when the speakers are such powerful women. I couldn't attend all the sessions, but everyone I spoke to said they were excellent. There is some good work going on across the country, for adult writing, poetry, ESOL, community development, the use of media, the use of IT. I missed Jenny Horsman's workshop which would have been great for some of my project partners in Pakistan. I would love to see how transferable her work is. Mev Miller is an veritable fount of energy, kindness and vision without whom this conference would not have happened. Mev is quite an organiser and Lorna, Nancy, everyone was stellar and greatfun to hang with. There were adult learners from Project Hope which was significant. Hopefully next year we'll have more and hear lots more from them.... For me personally, it was a lovely way to meet old friends and colleagues and make new ones, and to meet people from the NIFL listservs. I have been out of the American conference circuit for about 18 months now so this was a small shot of something wonderful. I'm going to try and go next year as well. I know I haven't mentioned everyone whose workshop I went to, but they were all remarkable. It's such a good way to learn what good stuff is going on, when the media is full of such dismal news. The one universal concern that everyone expressed was the rapidly dwindling pool of funds and how programmes were either suffering or closing because of this. I hope everyone lends their support to WE LEARN, it really encapsulates women in literacy and the phenomenal range of work going on. And besides, this was we all get to put faces to familiar names! Daphne, Andrea (and others) I was hoping to see you'll there, perhaps next year? All the best, Ujwala __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Small Business - Try our new resources site! http://smallbusiness.yahoo.com/resources/
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