Hume global learning village: a creative learning community

• George Osborne, Leone Wheeler
• Northern Partnerships Unit, School of Education

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08 December 2011Leading to the development of a 20 year strategy for learning, this paper provides a practical outline of a local government partnership with higher education in the context of a geographic learning community.

The paper is to document the development of the Hume Global Learning Village from the establishment of the Safe City Task Force, the building of the Hume Global Learning Centre, the development of the Hume Global Learning Village concept, the academic and other partnerships, research and learning activities that this supports. It outlines the vision and learning strategies that underpin the development of the HGLV, and concludes with factors that have contributed to keeping Village members involved and provides an indication of future developments.

Originality/value

The value of this paper is that it provides an opportunity to stimulate thinking about local government and its role in learning which is not a traditional role. The key to this is the linkages with higher education especially in terms of access to research capacity and learning which contributes to policy about relevant topics such as lifelong learning, social and emotional learning, youth, secondary school regeneration, active ageing and so forth.

Practical implications

The outcomes of the HGLV development demonstrate the strong link between economic development and the practical applications for those communities where education results are lower than average. Increasing the participation rate of the population involved in learning contributes to economic development and provides a more socially inclusive society.