Adult learners’ award ceremony at the Hagley College café.

To celebrate Adult Learners’ Week/He Tangata Mātauranga (4 to 10 September) Hagley Adult Literacy Centre (HALC) and Risingholme Community Centre co-hosted an adult learners’ award ceremony at the Hagley College café. Adult Learners’ Week this year celebrated the value of lifelong learning – a reminder that lifelong learning is vital for a rich, rewarding life. Adult Learners’ Week celebrates all adult learning whether it’s upskilling for a better job, preparing for further study, improving life skills or having fun.

The ceremony was well attended by a diverse cross-section of adult learners and educators. Sponsorship for the event was provided by ACE Aotearoa and Ako Aotearoa. The evening started with a quiz based on adult learning in Christchurch. This was followed by an interactive learning experience on how to use sign language – we all learnt how to sign the alphabet and sign our names! Awards were then presented to learners from the following organisations: Risingholme, HALC, Christchurch City Libraries, Literacy Christchurch and Dementia Canterbury. The evening concluded with supper.

Two tutors were also awarded an Exceptional Adult Educator Award in recognition of the amazing work they do in this area. The recipients were Carolyn Coghlan from Risingholme, and Anne-Marie Rose from HALC.

As well as the award evening HALC celebrated Adult Learners’ Week with many activities both on-site at Hagley and in the community. Events included a combined morning tea with a cake celebrating International Literacy Day (8 September); class visits to the park to view the spring flowers; trips to cafes and to the museum; and an outing to a kindergarten to read books to the children (books which the Shirley Literacy Pathways learners had written themselves!).