In collaboration with the International Research Institute in Sustainability (IRIS) and the Centre for Excellence in Active Learning (CEAL), Prof Walid El Ansari has led a successful bid to the European Commission Lifelong Learning Programme (Grundtvig) to host an international workshop. The workshop will take place from 25th to 30th October 2009 at the University of Gloucestershire.
The content of the Workshop will focus on sustainability, alternative approaches to sustainable lifestyles, and individual and community well-being. The Healthy Towns and Transition Towns’ models (characterised by a shift to a low consumption lifestyle) will be used to investigate how participants can use the environment in sustainable ways to support emotional, mental, physical and social well-being. The Workshop will recognise the diverse contexts and environments of the learners through a multi-national learning experience with intercultural exchange.
The primary aims of the workshop are to enable participants to:
- Gain understanding of learning and lifestyles from different EU cultures and communities.
- Identify how sustainable lifestyles can promote individual well-being and community cohesion.
- Understand how well-being can contribute to human and environmental sustainability.
- Explore ways of changing lifestyles and changing communities.
- Recognise the benefits of lifelong learning, reflective practice and role of non-formal and informal education in community projects.