A few key facts
In the November 2024 edition of this newsletter, we published our first article about induction into the International Adult and Continuing Education Hall of Fame (hereinafter referred to as the Hall of Fame). Now, we provide some additional details.
The Institute IACE HoF is based at the Centre for Continuing Education at the University of Oklahoma in the US state of Oklahoma. Established in 1996, it gained its European branch in 2013, named the HoF-European Chapter (HoF-E). More information about its background and updates on current efforts are available on the HoF website and in the leaflet, while details on the European branch can be found on the HoF-E website.
Each year, 10–12 distinguished individuals from around the world are selected for induction into the Hall of Fame. Their life and professional stories reflect the diversity of adult learning and education, as they come from various backgrounds and work as leaders, academics, researchers, policymakers and practitioners. Together, they form a global community, testifying to the richness of initiatives, insights, professional solutions and practices while also serving as an inspiration for future generations.
In Slovenia, we are proud that our internationally renowned adult educator, Dr Ana Krajnc, was inducted into the Hall of Fame in Belgrade in 2019. Her HoF profile can be viewed here. In the Slovenian context, Dr Krajnc is well known for her achievements and her current work at the Slovenian Third Age University SUTŽO.
This year, I had the extraordinary honour of joining her in the Hall of Fame upon the recommendation of Gina Ebner, Secretary-General of EAEA.
Florence, the capital of Tuscany, is home to the University of Florence (UniFi). Among its professors are former Italian prime ministers Giuseppe Conte and Mario Draghi, as well as HoF-E member and renowned adult educator Paolo Federighi. Together with his team of professors and students, Federighi ensured the smooth running of the HoF 2024 conference and ceremony.
This year’s conference, held on 7–8 November, was titled Revitalising Adult Continuing Education for Positive Social Changes and Personal Fulfilment. It featured an engaging format, as we only briefly gathered in the plenary session for the opening and closing parts, each featuring one presentation.
The opening keynote was delivered by Isabell Kempf, Director of UIL, who presented the structure of the new GRALE report. She encouraged participants to supplement quantitative, statistical data with qualitative, content-based insights. The closing keynote was delivered by Paolo Federighi, who summarised the work of the groups to the best of his ability. He promised that the initiatives and insights would be the focus of further work in the coming months.
The rest of the conference was dedicated to lively discussions in ten working groups. In the last working group on stakeholder collaboration and inclusion led by Gina Ebner from EAEA, I delivered a presentation about Slovenia and our ALE system. I provided a detailed overview of stakeholder cooperation, as outlined in our Resolution on the Adult Education Master Plan for the 2022–2030 period, and the coordination of LLW. The latter follows a top-down approach while also considering the flow of decision-making and operations from the bottom up. Our examples were met with admiration, with comments highlighting how thoroughly and sensibly the field is organised, which is clearly reflected in practice.
The induction of the Hall of Fame Class of 2024
The afternoon session on 8 November was entirely dedicated to presenting and honouring the 18 new HoF members. Nine of us, active in Europe, were inducted: Don Luigi Ciotti (Italy), Karen Evans (United Kingdom), Francesco Pedró Garcia (Spain), Timothy Denis Ireland (United Kingdom), Morten Flate Paulsen (Norway), Andreas Schleicher (Germany), Magdalini (Magda) Trantallidi (Greece), Albert Tuijnman (posthumously, Netherlands) and myself, Zvonka Pangerc Pahernik (Slovenia).
Additionally, nine individuals from the United States and other parts of the world joined the Hall of Fame: Lisa M. Baumgartner, Vandana Chakrabarti, Shibao Guo, Vaughn John, Elizabeth A. Lange, Carolyn Medel-Añonuevo, Lisa R. Merriweather, Don Olcott, Jr. and Edward W. Taylor.
An organisation being inducted into the Hall of Fame has been more an exception than a rule, and this honour was bestowed upon the EAEA.
At the opening part of the ceremony, during the symposium, members of the HoF Class of 2024 delivered five-minute presentations about our personal and professional journeys, as well as the individuals and events that had a decisive influence on us. This was followed by the awarding of plaques and medals, accompanied by brief two-minute thank-you speeches.
The nomination for induction into the Hall of Fame came as a great surprise to me. Over time, with the support of my nominator, colleagues at the SIAE and later, due to the extraordinary, affirming responses from colleagues both at home and abroad, I have embraced this recognition with pride. Its foundation lies in the fact I highlight at every opportunity: this success belongs to all my colleagues at the SIAE. I have learned from them and followed their steps since December 1995, and I continue to do so today.
My insights and work have also been profoundly shaped by many exemplary individuals and institutions that together form the adult education community in Slovenia in the broadest sense of the term. Together, we have genuinely achieved so much for the benefit of learners, who, in turn, remain my most genuine teachers. The news of my induction into the Hall of Fame also attracted the attention of several media outlets. I am grateful for the opportunities to raise awareness about ALE, LL and everything else happening in this field in Slovenia. May this continue!
We will celebrate in 2025 during the national LLW opening, as it is precisely our 30 years of awareness-raising for greater participation in learning and education that have attracted European and global recognition and paved the way to the Hall of Fame.
A more detailed article has been published as an EPALE blog post. The December edition of the HoF newsletter is entirely dedicated to this conference and the induction of the Class of 2024 into the Hall of Fame.
Zvonka Pangerc Pahernik, MSc (zvonka.pangerc@acs.si), SIAE
