Facing the devastation of World War One, the British Prime Minister Lloyd George created a Ministry of Reconstruction to advise on how society and the economy might recover. 

Monumental challenges

We face challenges equally great today, created by the global financial crisis of 2007-2009, the climate emergency, unsustainable inequality of income and wealth, and the threat of periodic global pandemics caused by a global free-for-all which has left communities across the world vulnerable. 

Arguably, the greatest contribution of the Ministry of Reconstruction was their 1919 Report on Adult Education, which led to a huge growth in provision of lifelong learning over the subsequent decades in the UK and globally. Yet just when this is needed more than ever – with growing life expectancy, technological and industrial disruption, and societal challenges that demand discussion and debate – lifelong learning is being neglected.

The series

The series of four interactive, free-of-charge online events, organised jointly by The Co-operative College, The WEA, Kellogg College, University of Oxford, Nottingham University,the Department for Continuing Education at Oxford University, and the Raymond Williams Foundation focused on:

• Communicating the latest evidence and thinking on adult education
• Discussing and debating the wider societal issues that can be tackled through adult education
• How to generate action globally and in turn, improve wellbeing locally.

The series built upon the Report of the Centenary Commission on Adult Education, available free of charge from the Centenary Commission website.

Speakers were drawn from the Centenary Commission’s members and patrons (details via above link), as well as more widely.

Watch the sessions

If you didn't get chance to join us in person for the sessions, then fear not as we recorded them all to watch back at a time convenient for you.

All the recordings, as well as a summary of what was covered in each session, can be viewed below.

Episode one: Today’s challenges – climate crisis, inequality, global pandemics

Chair: Dame Helen Ghosh

Facilitator: Dr Cilla Ross, Principal and CEO, Co-operative College

Speakers included: Ruby Wax, comedian and mental health campaigner | Sharon Clancy, Chair, Raymond Williams Foundation; Assistant Professor, University of Nottingham| Professor Lalage Bown OBE, Adult Educationalist|

Click the video below to catch all the action.

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Episode two: The world of work – preparing for the rise of the robots

Chair: Dame Helen Ghosh

Facilitator: Dr Cilla Ross, Principal and CEO, Co-operative College

Speakers included:  Roger McKenzie, Assistant General Secretary, Unison | Lord Bilimoria, President-elect of the Confederation of British Industry |

Click the video below to catch all the action.

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Episode Three: The need for Community Cohesion and Democratic Dialogue

Chair: Dame Helen Ghosh

Facilitator: Dr Cilla Ross, Principal and CEO, Co-operative College

Speakers included: Dame Mary Beard, Professor of Classics at the University of Cambridge | Sir Kenneth Olisa OBE, Chairman of the Shaw Trust | Melissa Benn, Journalist 

Click the video below to catch all the action.

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Episode Four: Global perspectives on adult education and lifelong learning: seizing the moment

Chair: Dame Helen Ghosh

Facilitator: Dr Cilla Ross, Principal and CEO, Co-operative College

Speakers included: Simon Parkinson, WEA Chief Executive & General Secretary | Melissa Highton, Assistant Principal, Online Learning, and Director of Learning, Teaching & Web Services, University of Edinburgh| Sir Alan Tuckett OBE

Click the video below to catch all the action.

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