History has a habit of ignoring women. Thirty years ago one thought that re-emerging women's movement would never be dumped in the same way previous feminist generations were consigned to the dustbin of history. It took feminist activists and scholars; women trade unionists and health workers; feminist writers, publishers and artists; and the…

The author expresses surprise and concern about what she perceives as an absence of feminist analysis in current discussions of adult education issues and discusses why talking about social class or women's oppression is no longer popular. Looking at examples of current gender inequalities in the workforce, the writer contends that women's…

In this article, the author talks about a gathering that was marching through the dusty Brazilian streets of Porto Alegre. 200,000 noisy representatives of civil society from the global South, together with dedicated supporters from more privileged countries like UK, travelled across continents to insist that "another kind of world is possible".…

The most serious long-term problem facing the world at the moment is not terrorism but the desperate level of poverty and inequality endured by those living in the Global South--due in part to environmental problems created by the unsustainable abuse of natural resources. By the late 1990s there was a growing consensus that the prevalence of…

For those working in adult learning, supporting active citizenship has become one of those principles-turned-platitudes they like to recite, but they need to search hard in the small print of recent White Papers to be sure that the Government cares about the wider purposes of learning beyond functional training for employment. "Active citizenship"…

A conference event is mediated through keynote speeches, power point presentations, professional role-playing and the turgid language of policy agendas, initiatives, benchmarks and outputs. Serious human concerns rarely surface in the orchestrated and anodyne arena of professional conference-going. The ready recourse to ritual and procedure means…

Describes a Voluntary Arts Network program involving the Globe Theatre in London that is focused on realizing the cultural and creative potential of lifelong learning by involving adult volunteers in drama projects. (SK)

Reflects on an adult education conference in South Africa, noting that as the nation focuses on neoliberal economic policies, the education agenda may shift to vocationalism. Considers how the vision of Mandela and the needs expressed by local women for learning for life will be lost. (SK)

Recent protests and vigilante actions in Britain related to pedophiles raise issues for adult educators. Educators must be prepared to struggle along with learners in the creation of knowledge based on reason and emotion and shaped by ethical and political considerations. (SK)