Senator Whiteman Lauds Partnership Between JACAE and MSVU

As the Government continues to foster an environment that promotes the importance of life-long education, Information Minister, Senator Burchell Whiteman has lauded the partnership between the Jamaica Council for Adult Education (JACAE) and the Mount Saint Vincent University (MSVU) in Canada, which seeks to create learning-driven urban cities in the two countries.
Minister Whiteman, who was addressing a JACAE-hosted symposium on September 29 at the Knutsford Court Hotel in Kingston, said “it is very encouraging to see us exploring the possibilities alongside an institution from a developed country, as we both seek to foster urban development in two cities, Halifax (Nova Scotia), Canada and Kingston in Jamaica”.
Speaking against the background of the myriad of opportunities being created by globalisation, he noted that a collaborative approach to development would inevitably serve both nations well.
The Minister pointed out that Jamaica has enjoyed an excellent track record of collaborations with Canada, which has also included the development of Jamaica’s community college system, where the Association of Canadian Community Colleges (ACCC) gave much needed technical assistance and support.
Senator Whiteman said the concept of the learning city, which the JACAE and MSVU were both working towards adopting in the respective cities, was a timely innovation as it was in keeping with other developments being undertaken by the Jamaican government, particularly the e-learning initiative in the education system.
The learning city is a proposed use of learning as a way of promoting social cohesion, regeneration and economic development that involves all parts of the community.
Of the e-learning initiative, the Minister told participants at the symposium that, “it will ensure that modern communication technology and interactive learning activities bring the curriculum in clinically proven and learner friendly formats to the students wherever they are”.
The symposium was one of the events that the JACAE hosted during Adult Learners’ Week that was celebrated under the theme, ‘Values – Essential Life Skills for Personal and National Development’.
The Week will culminate today (October 1) with a fund-raising dinner at the Jamaica Pegasus Hotel.