Trans-National Meeting 2007

Press Release

The EDOL programme is funded under an EU scheme, Grundvig 2, the main objectives of which are:

• The promotion of the European collaboration in the life education between the institutions of education of adults or reinforcing education
• The improvement of the training of individuals, who are involved with the education of adults
• Promotion of life-long education and the development of equality of opportunities in adult learning

The EDOL project aims to create a collaborative e-learning environment where all the learners can acquire or improve their digital skills. The project has utilised a number of innovations in the delivery of e-learning and digital skills and has developed best practices for future work in this field.

Along with two groups of learners from Ireland , the following countries are represented on the EDOL project: Belgium, Denmark, Netherlands, Spain, Italy and 2 groups from Great Britain.

Today's meeting in Waterford is the final meeting of the project members. It will be marked by the launch of a DVD that contains presentations of the work of the project members along with interviews in which participants share their learning and experiences of the project. Project members will also participate in a range of social and cultural events in the city and the region.

The meeting was opened by the Lord Mayor of Waterford , represented by Cllr Mary O'Halloran who welcomed the participants to Waterford and commented on the value of life-long learning to communities. The DVD was launched by Dr Tom O'Toole, Head of the School of Business , Waterford Institute of Technology, Dr Tom O'Toole noted the long association between the Institute and the Nagle Centre and spoke of his own and the Institute's commitment to fostering adult learning in the community.

The Nagle Centre relies on grants and other outside funding to support its operations and, along with the Grundvig project, has received assistance from several Government departments and from Waterford Area Partnership. The Centre has partnered with Waterford Institute of Technology on bringing its training programmes to a wider audience.

The Centre's ECDL and FETAC training programmes continue to be extremely popular and the new training centre can accommodate up to 20 students per class. Both day and evening courses are available and anyone interested in learning or improving on their computer skills should contact the Centre at 086-8649843.

The Nagle Centre has been in operation since 1998 and is based at the ERIHC at Mount Sion . The Centre was initially set up to address the lack of facilities for parents in the community - in particular mothers who are working in the home and to encourage them to become actively involved in their child's education while bridging gaps in their own learning.The Centre is a non-profit organization that fosters community revitalization through education and technology training.