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Happy Birthday WEA! In 2010 the WEA in On October 5th 1910 an audience of almost 100 people attended a meeting in the Central Hall, The WEA had been set up in The 100 years since have seen enormous changes in the political and social contexts, but throughout the WEA has remained true to its goal of creating learning opportunities for adults wanting to re-engage with learning or wanting to extend their learning into new areas, to advance themselves or their communities. All associated with the WEA are immensely proud of its achievements and although we have been traditionally quite quiet about what the organisation and its learners have done, this is the year to stand proud and share our story. Centenary Book The WEA's centenary book The Learning Never Ends was launched in the Long Gallery at Stormont on 19th May. The volume is a collection of personal reminiscences and appreciations from past staff, affiliated organisations, tutors and especially learners. Read more in the full article: Centenary AGM Conference Our AGM this year will take the form of a one-day conference that will focus on the recommendations of the report of the Inquiry into the Future of Lifelong Learning. The keynote speaker will be Prof John Field (Uni of Stirling) who was one of the inquiry's commissioners. We want to engage as many as possible in a debate around how best to engage with its findings and proposals in The AGM Conference will be on 5th October, at the Stormont Hotel. Other details will be updated as soon as possible. Send us Greetings If you would like to send birthday greetings or share memories or photos of your experience of the WEA, please contact us at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it and we will post these on this website. Please click (right click and select save link as) to download either of our publications:
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Random Story from "The Learning Never Ends" book.
I didn’t have a great experience at school. I’m dyslexic and that was a big barrier to my learning. I decided that I had to get back to learning to build up my confidence because I felt I was poor at both Maths and English and I really wanted to help my children with their homework – they’re both dyslexic too.
I was really nervous when I started the classes, but the tutor gave me great support and gradually my confidence increased – she told me to concentrate on what I could do and not get bogged down with what I couldn’t. The whole assessment thing terrified me, but I stuck at it and always attended the classes. I did the Maths classes with the WEA and it was great to get the certificates.
I have a lot more confidence now. I can fill out a form and do my times tables. I’m happy to give anything my best shot now instead of feeling a sense of failure even before I started and backing off immediately rather than try something new. I was even able to write an article for my local paper about my learning experiences.
It’s great to feel that I can help my boys with their homework now. Doing the courses also gave me enough confidence to ask for a specialist to help them with their dyslexia. I feel my children are now getting the help they need.
Generally I feel happy to tackle new challenges in my everyday life.
Paula
(Winner of DEL Essential Skills Learner of the Year Award (