The Local Education Authorities Forum for the Education of Adults (LEAFEA) exists to promote the development of adult learning in and by local authorities in England. Adult learning is seen as a key component of local government agendas to help everyone achieve their potential, to give people a better quality of life, to promote health and well-being, to strengthen communities, assist in providing work and to provide services that meet community needs.

The LEAFEA termly network meetings offer members the opportunity to:

• hear about emerging policies, practice and research;
• meet representatives of key national organisations;
• come together and engage in dialogue on current issues;
• send messages to government departments and other agencies.

This meeting will provide the opportunity to consider some major challenges facing the sector

Aims
The focus of this national meeting is the current change agenda and members will have the opportunity to help shape the LEAFEA response to shifts in policy and how we seek to influence decision makers over the coming year.

The theme for this meeting is Adult Education 2030, and this picks up and weaves together a number of threads from our previous workshops and conferences.  The focus will be on the challenges that face our learners and communities as we enter the third decade of the 21^st Century, and how adult education can adapt to meet those challenges.

The morning sessions will focus on the three challenges identified by the OECD in their Curriculum 2030 report:

• Environmental
• Social
• Technological / economic

These are issues we all face as citizens, but which as adult education providers we may be well positioned to find solutions over the next decade.

In the afternoon, session will look at the creative thinking skills that is needed to nurture ourselves, our staff and our learners, in order to meet those challenges.  This interactive session will give us the chance to practice and hone these skills within a defined brief.