Learning Circles in Eastern Region

Our first circle will be launched on 11 December 2009 in the foyer of the theatre at Campus West in Welwyn Garden City with a circle learning about Botanical Drawing. This will be both the first of a circle, a demonstration, and a chance to have a go. That day the venue is celebrating the contribution of its volunteers and many people are expected to attend.  Our circle will be professionally video-taped.

A number of people have already come forward wanting to run circles, from among people with existing links to the Region – tutors, retired tutors, branch volunteers, other staff, but perhaps most excitingly, from people outside our existing networks as well.  Subjects offered include art, crafts, small building projects for gardeners, IT for the digitally excluded, medical literacy, reading groups for literacy, archives and local history.  We expect many more.

We are looking forward to soon being able to offer training to these volunteers.

To our delight we have begun to hear about a number of potential free spaces.  These have to yet to be investigated but the picture looks promising.

We are in preliminary discussions with a number of people about plans for more “revolutionary” initiatives, hoping to involve constituencies our course provision never reaches, and these developments are quite exciting, though at a very early stage.

Regional publicity was put together and circulated in early December to all branches tutors, and, through targeted field staff, with partners in the region.  Feedback to date has been very positive.  We have high hopes of the project, despite the short time scale.