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Conferences and Connections
NIACE Memories - conferences as they used to be
| Margaret Davey
Margaret Davey is the Principal of the City Lit., the (then) brand new, London County Council adult education flagship, to which W. E. Williams refers in his recollections of the early days of the Arts Council (Adult Education, Vol. 50). Previously Margaret was Head of Croydon’s adult education service and has been a strong NIACE Executive Committee member. |
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I have fond memories of the old-style NIACE Annual Study Conference, which used to be held over three, or maybe even four, days and provided in the mid to late 80’s probably the most important event in the calendar for aspiring professional adult educators.
The conference was held at different university locations around the country, Bangor, Exeter, Guildford, I remember well, and provided space and time for both serious work and serious fun. The accommodation was spartan - we wouldn’t put up with it these days - and the experience of time out, without mobile phones or faxes to interrupt the luxury of being at work while away from work, was brilliant. I recall we were a pretty select group too. Mostly local authority adult education, university extra-mural departments and the voluntary sector professionals; at that time further education colleges were considered almost beyond the pale and hardly came to NIACE events anyway.
Consequently we adult educators shared issues of the day in the same language and with our own special brand of enthusiasm. We seemed to be united by a general lack of appreciation of the importance of our work, as demonstrated by politicians, civil servants, local authorities and the world at large. Nevertheless, I always came away feeling inspired and invigorated with a sense of time well spent - but then there really was more time in those days!
