NB 2026 Initiative on Learning
Presentation by Roberta Clowater and Janet Thomas
On the 26th of October, the Steering committee of the Sustainability Education Alliance responded to an invitation by the NB2026 Initiative on Learning and met at the Conservation Council’s Conserver House in Fredericton. First off, Roberta Clowater explained the project background and purpose. This project is sponsored by NB2026, a citizen group that was established about three years ago under the Graham government. NB2026 is a non partisan group, involving politicians from all camps, citizen leaders, big and small business, academics, social workers and environmentalists from the four corners of the province. The long term aim of the project is to make a cultural shift whereby lifelong learning becomes a core value of all New Brunswickers.
With only 12% of New Brunswickers being able to read at an advanced level in a society more and more concentrated around a knowledge economy, it is understandable why Premier Alward endorses the idea that our province has to prepare for a cultural shift. We need a long-term plan on where we want to be in 2026 and lay out a road map. This ambitious project will come up with a plan to address New Brunswick’s challenges: literacy, a qualified workforce, citizens with an opinion and children that can envision an interesting life in their community. We need to become a learning province in order to embrace the future.
The NB 2026 Initiative on Learning is modelled on the poverty reduction process that Janet Thomas helped to implement while working in the social development sector. She explained that this first Outreach phase is designed to inform citizen groups about the project and to invite their participation. More than 3,500 people received an Outreach presentation over the past 6 months. The Public Dialogue phase, starting in November, will invite individuals to province-wide public dialogues. 22 public dialogues will be held in 17 communities beginning in early January, 2012. In the third phase, a carefully selected team of citizens from around the province will then debate the input provided by New Brunswickers to create options for an action plan. Around a year from now, in the final phase, this draft action plan will be presented to a group of leaders from all sectors of New Brunswick society. This group will decide which actions will be included in the final plan, as well as who will undertake each action item.
This is not a typical consultation process whereby a plan is developed and presented to Government for their action. Instead, like the poverty reduction plan, since developing a learning culture is the responsibility of every New Brunswicker, all sectors of our society will be expected to come to the table prepared to commit themselves to action. Government will be just one of the sectors represented around the table. This will be a wonderful opportunity to work collaboratively amongst the sectors.
Lifelong learning is crucial for new Brunswickers, because it affects all areas of our lives. Besides job quality and economic security, at stake are our health, quality of life, cultural identity, our openness to diversity, our ability to engage in the political process and our environmental literacy. The Sustainability Education Alliance of New Brunswick understands that this is an opportunity to collaborate in order to assure that the green agenda will find a central place in New Brunswick’s learning agenda.
