Sankofa Festival: Celebrating Informal Community Development Learning

The Federation for Community Development Learning (FCDL) took the opportunity to take part in the Informal Learning Revolution Festival in October 2009. We called our project Sankofa Festival: Celebrating Informal Community Development Learning. We led an interregional partnership programme of events celebrating and promoting the importance of informal learning as a route to developing learning. The project took place in the North East, North West, Yorkshire and Humberside, South East and South West. In the one month of October we, in partnership with our members in these regions, involved 2,483 people to take part in informal learning opportunities.

What was common across all strands of the Sankofa Festival was the importance of using outreach and community development work time to negotiate a menu based on the needs of the potential participants. Where possible participants were involved in defining the themes, activities and the wider process of recording the journeys of learning.  We want to acknowledge the vital role of our partners in making this project so successful. The pre-existing community relationships, networks and groups of our partners were essential in putting such a programme together in such a short time frame. We are still hearing from people about the continued work they are involved in which builds on the work carried out

Project outcomes include:

• A new network of people involved in community development learning and practice have engaged with the wider value of informal community development learning

• In each region the work has led to continued development, partnerships and working
• Tools for critical analysis, reflection and action based on the values and principles of community development have been highlighted and developed
• Many of the participants have gone on to get involved in ongoing activities and initiatives.