ACE PLACE: The ACE Space pop-up classroom was run last year in the main street of Masterton, where deputy mayor Graham McClymont learnt a few chords on the ukulele. The ACE Place will be on the move during Adult Learners Week from September 8.PHOTO/FILE
ACE PLACE: The ACE Space pop-up classroom was run last year in the main street of Masterton, where deputy mayor Graham McClymont learnt a few chords on the ukulele. The ACE Place will be on the move during Adult Learners Week from September 8.PHOTO/FILE
Wairarapa REAP (Rural Education Activities Programme) will hit the road with a load of educational opportunities in tow during Adult Learners Week.
Wairarapa REAP spokeswoman Jude McNeur said the "new spin" on Adult Learners Week/He Tangata Matauranga would be an ACE (Adult and Community Education) Place on the Move seven-dayroadshow from September 8, when a mobile information trailer will be taken to towns "up and down the Wairarapa".
Last year, an ACE Place classroom was run out of a vacant Queen St business premises that doubled as "public drop-in," aimed at attracting education providers and prospective adult students.
Mrs McNeur said the ACE Place on the Move would this year travel to venues from Featherston to Eketahuna, where a gazebo and couch would be laid on, and information and advice handed out on learning opportunities "whether for fun, to gain life skills or to upskill for employment".
The team will be joined at each location by representatives from other learning providers, such as Wairarapa UCOL, Taratahi Agricultural Training Centre, Literacy Wairarapa, Menz Shed, Supergrans, U3A and Like Minds Like Mine "to give their own tips and pointers on a whole range of adult learning". Wairarapa REAP's Wendel Richardson, who is co-chair of ACE Aotearoa, said: "Adult learning can add another dimension to people's lives, keep people stimulated and contribute to a sense of well-being.
"There's a surprising amount on offer on our own doorstep and this will be a great opportunity for people to drop by and learn what's happening near where they live."
The ACE Place on the Move roadshow will visit another town in the region each day of Adult Learners Week - in the street if the weather is fine or in the respective town library if not - starting with Featherston on September 8 and moving on to Martinborough, Carterton, Masterton, and Eketahuna.
Mrs McNeur said the ACE Place on the Move would be in Masterton for the annual Adult Learners awards ceremony at the Frank Cody Lounge in the Masterton Town Hall on September 11, when awards will be made for outstanding adult learners, exceptional adult educators and innovative providers from local nominations.
For more information about Wairarapa events during Adult Learners Week, contact Jude McNeur at Wairarapa REAP or go online to waireap.org.nz or facebook.com/WairarapaREAP. For more info: http://www.aceaotearo.org.nz/events/adult-learners-week.
