Kilkenny adults urged to consider return to learning

AONTAS, Ireland’s national adult learning organisation, has received the 2022 International Adult and Continuing Education (IACE) Hall of Fame award.

It is the first time the award, presented by the IACE Hall of Fame based in the University of Oklahoma, has been won by an organisation.

Newly appointed CEO of AONTAS, Dearbháil Lawless, and her predecessor, Dr Niamh O’Reilly, accepted the award in a special presentation at the ASEM Lifelong Learning Conference in Cork. 

Incredible monthly statistic recorded by Kilkenny Weather for September

On receiving the award, AONTAS urged adults across Ireland to consider their options to return to learning with the support and information available through their One Step Up Service. AONTAS support adults of all ages and backgrounds in Kilkenny, and across Ireland, to return to learning. The organisation’s induction to the IACE Hall of Fame acknowledges AONTAS as a global leader in the adult and continuing education sector.

Accepting the award, Dearbháil Lawless paid tribute to the tireless work of her colleagues in adult education across Ireland and to her predecessor Niamh O’Reilly, who also received an individual award for her contribution to the adult education sector. “AONTAS believes that all adults deserve the right to quality lifelong learning opportunities that are both empowering and transformative.

“Having worked closely with our former CEO Niamh O’Reilly, I am delighted to see her great work in the sector recognised today as well. She has been an incredible advocate and changemaker for adult learners in Killenny, and across Ireland and along with my colleagues in AONTAS, we are continuing to carry on that important work and raising the voices of people returning to education.”

Dr O’Reilly said: “We are so honoured to receive this award and it is a testament not just to our work in AONTAS, but to the work of every single partner organisation we work with across Ireland to support people in their local communities. Often, those who work in adult education aren’t solely tutors or teachers, they are pillars of support for individuals embarking on something new and possibly very challenging. Their impact has an incredible domino effect for wider society.”

CycleConnects opens public consultation on Kilkenny cycle routes

Irelands Cycle Network invites public input on plans for cycle routes for Kilkenny City and for rural cycling

One Step Up service

Ms Lawless also pointed to AONTAS’ One Step Up information service, website and freephone helpline which helps thousands of adults to return to learning each year. She said: “Returning to education can be a daunting step, especially for those who have only negative experiences of school or who have been out of formal education for a long time.

“Whatever the reason someone wants to return to education – whether it is to get a qualification or to help them get a new job, to help their kids with their homework, to make friends or to learn something new – AONTAS can support learners in Kilkenny to find the right path.”

The One Step Up website www.onstepup.ie and free phone helpline, 1800-303-669, provided by AONTAS is available to all adult learners looking to return to education.

PICTURES: Loreto and Presentation Kilkenny Debs (2016) - click for pics!

Tap ARROW ('>') below for next pic