Briya participates in international UNESCO family learning workshop

Lorie Preheim, Academic Dean, represented Briya and the United States at a three-day workshop on intergenerational learning organized by the UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning.

The workshop, held in Hamburg, Germany, brought together family learning experts from twenty-one countries. These experts shared experiences and best practices from intergenerational learning programs in their communities, which will be used to create an evidence-based resource pack for others who are interested in starting similar programs.

“It was a fascinating experience,” Preheim said. “I know a lot about family literacy in the United States, but I didn’t realize how much family literacy was going on all around the world, where the intention is to raise the literacy level of both the parent and the child.”

During the workshop, representatives each shared about aspects of their intergenerational learning program and made recommendations for the concepts and materials to be included in the resource pack.

“It was interesting to see commonalities and differences among the programs,” Preheim said. “For example, family reading was something you saw in many different countries as a strategy for raising literacy. We also talked a lot about the importance of educators being from the community itself so they can better understand and connect with participants.”

The final resource pack will include a wide range of materials—including guidelines for program development and curriculum, recommendations and examples of program content, and assessment tools. The pack will be published in 2017 in both English and French.