Making information and communications technology part of the social, cultural, and economic fabric of people's lives is about initiating deep-rooted societal changes. Adult education initiatives alone are unlikely have a radical effect on those changes. (JOW)

Describes an adult education for women in Kosovo to learn dressmaking. Indicates that the primary purpose of the class was to bring the women together for conversation and mutual support. (JOW)

A program started during a drought in Zimbabwe involved the cultivation of drought-resistant crops. The program made the women less dependent on their often-absent husbands and changed the relationship between men and women in the village. (JOW)

Examines the forms of patriarchal violence that factory women in Malaysia experience and shows strategies that helped abused women to articulate their pain and reclaim a sense of self-agency. (JOW)

Discusses the essential characteristics of learning in the four main life stages: childhood, youth, adulthood, and mature adulthood. Itemizes the characteristics of adult learning and stresses the importance of life projects as a motivation for learning. (JOW)

Lifelong learning in rural Britain has been neglected. Case studies of rural educational policy and practice suggest the importance of lifelong learning to individuals and social groups in rural areas and illustrate the challenges. (Contains 10 references.) (JOW)

Looks at the changing language of adult education and argues that the social practice of adult education needs to be extracted from the middle of lifelong learning and imbued with the language of social purpose and the common good. (JOW)

Vital Link is a British program that links national reading and literacy organizations with libraries. The focus is on how libraries can support and motivate existing learners while attracting new learners. (JOW)

Universities are--and must remain--special and different, apart and yet central to the world. They must sustain educational purposes and share their roles and purposes with institutions such as technical colleges, organizations, and diverse communities. (JOW)

Discusses the Young Adult Leadership Partnership, a British project that helps young adults with mental health problems to achieve their potential as valuable members of society. (JOW)

For education providers, working with community agencies within mental health frameworks poses threats as well as opportunities. Adult educators do not need to be mental health specialists; their role in such collaborations is to be learning specialists. (JOW)

The COOL (Community Opportunities for Older Learners) Leicester project os a model for encouraging community partnerships and sharing resources to raise the public profile of older adult learning in a community setting. It is being expanded to a nationwide network in Britain. (JOW)

In Britain, a Women's Aid program offers practical support and assistance to abused women. Survivors of domestic abuse can benefit from the opportunity afforded by an objective appraisal of the social context of their personal experiences, facilitated by trained volunteers. (JOW)

A project to provide steel workers in North Wales with guidance about learning opportunities and to promote lifelong learning in the workplace focused on the development of basic information technology skills. (JOW)

Britain's Standards Fund for Lifelong Learning financed a range of learning opportunities for adults. The pilot program demonstrated the value of alternative funding for local, "risky" initiatives that meet the needs of hard-to-reach, disadvantaged, and excluded groups. (SK)