Ireland

Sowing Learning Seeds in Slovenia
 
As the Adult Learners' Festival Administration Officer this was a great opportunity for me to learn more about Adult Learners' Festivals in Europe, get an opportunity to network with colleagues from all over the world and gain an invaluable cultural experience.
 
Awards ceremony 
 
Our visit began with attending the national opening awards ceremony of the Slovenian Lifelong Learning Week in Žalec. Their awards ceremony, while similar to ours in its aim, was very different in the manner that it was produced. The ceremony was opened amid fanfare and trumpeters and held in a theatre with dramatic spherical stage props. The main focus was on the video screen where a short 3 minute clip about the award winner and their work was presented. The clips had been subtitled in English for our benefit so we were able to get a lovely insight into the lives and work of the awards winners otherwise we might have been quite lost as to what was happening! The entertainment was provided by SToP a Slovenian percussion group who used unconventional instruments like kitchen utensils, car brakes, screws, and hammers to play their music.
 
We were then brought on a visit to the Eco-Museum of Hop-Growing, which was housed in a former hop drying facility in Žalec, to meet with a learners corner who showed us traditional handcrafted arts such as wood whittling and crochet. Learners corners or study circles are widespread in Slovenia where people who wish to learn something new come together to study in an informal environment. We also attended the opening of an exhibition in the general library and were treated to an unusual musical demonstration done on cowbells. We also had the pleasure of meeting the former mayor of Zalec who once had the honour of being the Grand Marshall for the St. Patricks Day parade in county Mayo!
 
As part of our visit we took part in a workshop on ‘How to engage ‘old' and ‘new' media in learning festivals' the day after in Prebold. We discussed the benefits of embracing new technology to promote our learning festivals and I got the opportunity to brush up on my presentation skills by presenting the information back to the entire group.
 
Experiencing other cultures
 
We were also lucky that our visit included time for some cultural outings so that we could experience Slovenia's rich cultural heritage and beautiful landscape. We had the opportunity to visit an old Roman necropolis and St Peter's church which is home to a statue of the Madonna and Child dating from 1320. The visit was topped off with a trip to Slovenia's most famous scenic bakery where we were treated to their famous doughnuts, one of which was enough to share between four of us!
 
As the Adult Learners' Festival Administration Officer I was very glad that I had the opportunity to participate in this trip. It provided me with the space to network with international colleagues and make invaluable connections that I otherwise would not have had the chance to do. It also gave me a wonderful insight into how other Adult Learners' Festivals are run and how they have developed over the years. It also provided me with lots of new ideas to implement to help ensure that our own Adult Learners' Festival is an even bigger success next year. 
 
Kathryn Laing, Ireland