Joyful encounters, vibrant colours, harmonious sounds, sincere words and an elevated atmosphere – all imbued with gratitude for three decades of LLW and a fresh impetus for a promising future!
- The Adult Education Colloquium, addressing ALE for Peace, under the slogan Living Peace-Building, an article on which was prepared by the Chair of the Organising Committee, Jasmina Mirčeva, MSc
- The celebration of three decades of LLW, which will be covered in more detail below
- The presentation and conferment of this year’s SIAE Awards, as described in the article by Darijan Novak
Alongside the day-long programme in the main hall, the foyer was buzzing with activity. There, through the Escape to the Future Career Room (in Slovenian), colleagues from Ljubljana Public Education Centre Cene Štupar – CILJ contributed good spirits and a wealth of content, joined by Countess Greta with her spinners (in Slovenian) and members of Study Circle Bistrica (in Slovenian) and Study Circle Lipovci (in Slovenian) – all embodying the slogan of the afternoon session: People for People. Their contributions offered a glimpse into their year-round activities, during which they eagerly learn (often from one another), socialise and pass on knowledge across generations and the three dimensions of time: past, present and future.
If you grow up with this from childhood and are always involved in it, it becomes contagious and passes from generation to generation.
We pass on the knowledge we received from our ancestors, from generation to generation.
From practically no skills, we have reached a point where we produce rather attractive items that people love to buy.
The most interesting thing is when each person creates their own profession, when they think about what they could be, where they see themselves.
At precisely 2.15 p.m., the Slovenian national anthem filled the hall. Later, participants expressed their admiration for the sublime interpretation of this symbol of our shared identity and collective pride. With this performance, Tinkara Kovač set the tone for everything that followed.
Naturally, no such event is complete without formal addresses. Our collective efforts were acknowledged and congratulations extended to all LLW co-creators from 1996 to 2025 by our host, Dr Nataša Potočnik, Director of the SIAE, Branka Hrast Debeljak, MSc, Director General of the Upper Secondary, Short-Cycle Higher Vocational and Adult Education Directorate at the Ministry of Education, and our honoured guest, Marko Lotrič, President of the National Council of the Republic of Slovenia.
Lifelong Learning Weeks are an initiative that connects different generations, regions, needs and opportunities.
Lifelong learning is no longer a choice – it is a necessity. It enables individuals to realise their potential.
If we want to be a resilient, connected and prosperous society, we need people who learn, who know how to think, who know how to collaborate and who dare to be creative.
For me personally, the story of three decades of LLW began in 1996. Since then, the narrative has included the people who shaped or influenced it, the measurable milestones we reached and, above all, the meaningful developmental shifts we achieved. We acted professionally, prudently, persistently and tirelessly – but most importantly, with dedication and passion. Even Alan Tuckett, the father of learning festivals on an international scale and our first guest speaker, recognised this passion. His video message complemented the video address by the father of LLW in Slovenia, Dr Zoran Jelenc, who brought the idea of celebrating learning from the United Kingdom, helped bring it to life and has continuously advocated for lifelong learning. We recorded extended interviews with both and published shorter and longer versions on our website.
We know how to do adult education as a structure. What we have to do is work on the culture.
LLW, as Slovenia’s first and gradually more extensive national campaign in the field of education, represented an innovation in the professional sphere of ALE. At the same time, it became a voice for all underlying activities and achievements within ALE. Later, we reached further afield, as one of our most important principles was expansion – across sectors, cultures and generations, extending in both time and space and in every imaginable way.
The presentation of LLW’s development outlined three phases:
- 1996–2005: a decade of budding and taking root
- 2006–2015: a decade of branching out and strengthening
- 2016–2025: a decade of flourishing and bearing fruit
For each period, key success indicators – the number of organisers, coordinators and events – were listed, alongside joint themes or actions that added substantive focus. The venues of national openings and the topics of the adult education colloquia were also presented. Factors that enabled breakthroughs were highlighted – among these were the introduction of the SIAE Awards (1997), the establishment of a network of regional and thematic coordinators and the start of co-funding for LLW through Ministry of Education calls (both in 2001), the shift of the national opening to the local level (2006), support for LLW through the EAAL Implementation Project (since 2012) and the launch of the Learning Parade – a Day of Learning Communities (2013), among others. Not even COVID could stop us – in 2020, we organised a virtual national opening and celebrated the 25th anniversary of LLW, including with the anthem The Power and Joy of Learning (English subtitles).
Among the milestones is the integrated visual identity of LLW, which has accompanied us from 2000 to the present day. On this occasion, we would like to express our gratitude to the speakers who, through their personal stories and presentations of their efforts, lent their support to the story of 30 years of LLW. They were:
- David Fartek, designer, who spoke about the annual development of LLW’s visual identity, a process that has also fostered lasting friendships among those involved
- Brigita Kruder, MSc, Director of the Slovenska Bistrica AEC, who shared insights into the role of a regional LLW coordinator and collaboration with the media, drawing on the experience of her institution
- Maja Radinovič Hajdič, MSc, former Director of the Jesenice AEC, who reflected on the first implementation of the national LLW opening at the local level – in Jesenice – and on the work of the LLW Organising Committee of the Municipality of Jesenice
- Janja Bartelj, colleague at MOCIS Slovenj Gradec, who described how each year’s LLW story comes to life, shaped by the SIAE’s guidelines, enriched with a pinch of Janja’s creativity and resourcefulness and realised through collaboration with local stakeholders
Franci Lajovic, an external associate of the SIAE who manages the LLW information system and the production and archiving of graphic materials, also shared his perspective. He is in constant contact with organisers and seldom utters the words it can’t be done.
Franci Lajovic, an external associate of the SIAE who manages the LLW information system and the production and archiving of graphic materials, also shared his perspective. He is in constant contact with organisers and seldom utters the words it can’t be done.
My colleagues and I set up the LLW information system. Its foundations stem from an international project aimed at strengthening and expanding lifelong learning.
Alongside LLW, we established an international presence from the outset. We have shared our knowledge and experience throughout South-East Europe and exchanged ideas with peers across the globe. We have become – and remain – one of Europe’s most recognised and resilient learning festivals. Few of the approximately 40 festivals that were part of the global movement led by UIL (2003–2006) still exist. This year, we share the 30-year journey only with Australia’s Adult Learners’ Week.
We also reflected on the European projects we participated in or took the lead on at the event. We concluded with a proposal to UIL Director Isabell Kempf to revive the international movement of learning festivals.
You have a lot to be proud of.
The factors behind LLW’s success are clear and can be summarised by three guiding principles: openness, connectivity and progressiveness. Crucial to this success is the moral and financial support provided by the competent ministries for education and labour.
We have consolidated our insights into the Awareness-Raising for Lifelong Learning project, which in 2020 and 2021 convinced both European and Slovenian funders. A few years later, the project took concrete shape and now proudly runs alongside LLW, fulfilling its broad mission through the Lahko.si media campaign and other approaches.
The narrative of three decades of LLW was brought to a close by Olga Drofenik, former Deputy Director of the SIAE and a staunch advocate of LLW. Her words were prophetic:
The narrative of three decades of LLW was brought to a close by Olga Drofenik, former Deputy Director of the SIAE and a staunch advocate of LLW. Her words were prophetic:
And one more, perhaps crucial message to the SIAE team: Thirty years ago, your predecessors – some of whom are still among you – did indeed look to the British Adult Learners’ Week for inspiration, but they gave it an entirely new image and a broader mission – thanks to their own knowledge and enthusiasm. So today, do the same. Strengthen the role of LLW with your own developmental expertise, a deep understanding of practice and a clear vision for the future of adult learning and education…
We invite you to watch the recordings of the Central Celebration of LLW’s 30th anniversary – for the stories and testimonies described here and the outstanding artistic interludes by Tinkara Kovač and guitarist Daniel Matič.
This year’s LLW has been magnificent, as shown by this flagship event and the many local celebrations. The SIAE, as the national coordinator, could not have achieved all this without its partners at the regional level – and vice versa. So, it holds true: people for people – together! And forward – with passion!
Zvonka Pangerc Pahernik, MSc (zvonka.pangerc@acs.si), edited by Ana Peklenik (ana.peklenik@acs.si), both SIAE
Photos: Črt Piksi