Welcome to the ACE Aotearoa e-newsletter

Kia ora tatou

We hope that if you have had a break over the holidays you are feeling rested after what was a very busy term. This e-newsletter will bring you up to date with recent events in our sector.

Anti-budget Cuts Petition Presented at Parliament

A petition containing more than 50,000 signatures calling on the government to reverse the cuts to night classes was presented at Parliament on Tuesday, 20 October. A large contingent of opposition MPs received the petition which was tabled in Parliament by Labour’s Tertiary Education spokesperson, Maryan Street.

Sandy Morrison Honoured

Waikato University senior lecturer Sandy Morrison is to be inducted into the International Adult and Continuing Education Hall of Fame next month at the Association for Continuing Higher Education (ACHE) conference in Philadelphia. Sandy, who works at the School of Māori and Pacific Development, is the first New Zealander to be inducted into the Hall since the organisation began in 1995. She has been working in the field of adult education at Waikato University for more than 20 years, and has also carried out development work with ASPBAE - Asia South Pacific Association for Adult and Basic Education - where she was an executive council member for the South Pacific region and president from 2004 to 2008.
This is a huge honour for Sandy and the ACE Sector.

Draft Tertiary Education Strategy released

The Government's draft Tertiary Education Strategy 2010-2015 has been released for consultation. The draft strategy sets out the direction the Government wants tertiary education to take in the next five years and the improvements in performance it is seeking. The Ministry of Education is seeking feedback from tertiary providers, students, employers and communities on how the tertiary education system can boost New Zealand's economic prosperity and build a strong society for the future. Submissions close on 6 November 2009. The draft strategy is available at:
www.minedu.govt.nz/TertiaryEducationStrategyConsultation

ACE Aotearoa and the Strategic Alliance will be preparing a submission. When complete, this will be posted on the ACE Aotearoa website.

TEC Media release re Schools ACE Funding for 2010

The TEC has announced that funding arrangements are being finalised with 50 schools across New Zealand for the provision of classes on topics such as ‘Maths for Household Budgeting’ and 'Helping Your Child to Read'. Courses in Sign Language and Te Reo will also be available. For the full media release and a list of regions and provisional places, see the website: www.tec.govt.nz

ACE Aotearoa PD Support for New Initiatives

As lead agency for the ACE sector, ACE Aotearoa will provide support for schools funded to meet the government’s new initiatives. ACE Aotearoa will set up systems to gather information on the impact of the changes so that generic learning needs can be met and will respond to specific professional development proposals put forward by individual schools.

While ACE Aotearoa is helping to implement the new initiatives, the organisation remains committed to the restoration of all school-based learning opportunities lost through funding cuts. For a full media release see the website: www.aceaotearoa.org.nz

Quality Assurance Kits and PD Directories Available

There are a limited number of Quality Assurance Kits available at the ACE Aotearoa office. If you would like a copy sent to you please email: admin@aceaotearoa.org.nz, or you can visit our website to access the documents available on the web.

Networks Hui

Regional Hui have been held around the country to encourage regional ACE Networks to develop their own regional plans for the future. These have been very well attended, particularly in the more rural sectors. The hui have been vibrant and forward-looking, and will inform the national sector-led ACE Network Strategy which is being compiled at the moment. A working group made up of representatives from each regional hui will be held at the end of the month to discuss the draft national strategy before it goes to ACE Aotearoa Executive for the next stages.

CONFINTEA VI Conference

Infomation about the draft international learners’ charter produced in Edinburgh in April will soon be available on the ACE Aotearoa website, and those attending the CONFINTEA VI Conference in December in Belém, Brazil welcome input from the adult learning sector. Please send any comments to:

Fiona.Boucher@scotlandslearning.org.uk

ACEnet online community

The ACEnet community, a pilot for the use of online tools to offer ACE practitioners 'anywhere, anytime PD', is now live. We now have 22 members. Another 12 have joined Ako's site, and the team are supporting them to join ACEnet, as the process is not clear to everyone. The community is still very much in its forming phase so now is a great time to join.

To join, go to http://akoaotearoa.ac.nz/acenet. This will take you to the home page for ACEnet. You can view everything in the community immediately. However, if you want to post on any forums, you need to follow this two step process:
1. Join Ako Aotearoa's site
2. Join the ACEnet community to contribute
3. Make sure you are logged in (look in the box on the right) each time you want to add a comment.

Change of Address Details

We are currently updating our database. If any of your details have changed in 2009, please email us on