The ICAE Academy of Lifelong Learning Advocacy (IALLA) is an international residential course held for the first time in 2004, in Norway. Since then, a total of 8 editions have taken place in Africa, Europe, Latin America and the Arab Region; in 2012 the first advanced, second stage IALLA was held. Until now, there are more than 200 IALLA graduates from all regions of the world. This training course is rooted in a fusion of popular education and folkbildning, with a very innovative aspect: it is a unique learning and cultural translation space. Each course becomes an unforgettable experience for people, at personal and academic level, creating, each time, a new and different group of passionate people. That is what makes IALLA so unique; results go beyond learning to do advocacy for the right to education, participants take with them shared experience that will increase their self-confidence.

1. Capacity building
on a global level:
importance, challenges, and the
experiences of IALLA

2. What is ICAE
The International Council for Adult Education,
ICAE is a global network with a mandate to
advocate for youth and adult learning and
education (ALE) as a universal human right. It
was created in 1973 and has 7 regional bodies
(Africa, Arab Region, Asia, Caribbean, Europe,
Latin America and North America) representing
more than 800 NGOs - regional, national and
sectoral networks - in more than 75 countries.

3. ICAE’s advocacy
ICAE has a long trajectory participating in global
processes related to adult learning and education (ALE),
and beyond.
Since its beginnings, there was explicit recognition among
its members that addressing the needs of the populace
through adult education takes an interlinkage approach
and collaboration across all sectors.
This is why major world issues such as the environment,
gender equity, indigenous knowledge, literacy and others
also shaped the agenda of the ICAE.

4. Advocacy challenges (1)
Advocacy is an important component of ICAE’s
work, which emanates from its identity as a
global organization that addresses adult
education, literacy and lifelong learning.
The work of ICAE is anchored in the local,
national, regional and international work of its
constituency; therefore ICAE’s advocacy should
take place at local, national regional and global
levels. And this is no easy task.

5. Advocacy challenges (2)
Local agendas affect national agendas, which affect regional and
global agendas and vice versa. But often the connections and
exchange of information between the different levels are not so
smooth and, frequently, the grassroots are not able to participate in
international negotiations. Therefore, not rarely, global agendas are
completely disconnected from the grassroots.
Other challenges relate with the accountability of all actors involved,
specially the States who are the primary duty bearers for their
commitments.
The issue of how to translate commitments into practical action on
the ground, and how to assess progress through strong
accountability systems, is an ongoing debate.

6. Advocacy challenges (3)
To tackle these issues and have an effective
impact influencing global policies, ICAE focuses
on facilitate the understanding and the
involvement in global advocacy, build capacities
and new leaderships and build solid alliances
around our key messages.

7. ICAE Academy for
Lifelong Learning
Advocacy (IALLA)

8. IALLA has been one of the main pillars of ICAE’s work for
years.
Its objective is to identify and support leaders and activists
from all over the world, broadening the understanding and
knowledge on adult learning and education, and helping them
to acquire advocacy skills through a participatory methodology.
The curse also aims to promote and support future leaders that
promote positive change in their organizations, regional and
international networks and in ICAE itself.
The IALLA promotes networking as an effective mechanism for
collective learning.

10. Specific objectives of the
course:
To generate a broader vision on youth and adult education within the
framework of human rights and active citizenship, developing
linkages with the most important issues of the current global
context;
To support the emergence of a new leadership able to learn from
diversity and to do networking, so as to secure the involvement and
engagement of civil society organisations in the field of education;
To increase the abilities of emerging leaders to advocate and to
network for inclusive education and lifelong learning, and for the
issues of relevant concern in their organizations and fields of work.
To facilitate the exchange among young leaders and activists around
the globe and to support the continuity of their learning process by
sharing.

12. Key content
Theoretical content, practical tools, and the analysis of practical
experiences and innovative projects;
The topics cover the general concepts of adult education, lifelong
learning, civil society, social movement, among others, in the context
of current global and regional development tendencies and
challenges;
At a time in which the current globalization model is characterized by
uncertainties, a contribution of the course is to enable participants
to better understand the complexities of global governance and their
impact and to develop their capacities in building inclusive solutions
through different and creative perspectives.

14. Methodology (1)
Is a “mobile” training course lasting around three weeks, with
diverse participation from all over the world (with gender and
regional balance);
The combination of knowledge and skills, with the strong
focus on the critical reflection, enable participants to apply
the knowledge in their advocacy work at all levels.
The exercising of difernt types of inteligences is promoted,
and facilitators raise awarenes of the ‘abuse’ of the logic
inteligence. Therefore, to be in touch with the emotional
inteligence is promoted by a permisive and enjoyable
environment, and neutralizing any type of autoritarism that
could come form class, gender, etnicity, etc.

15. Methodology (2)
The course is structured to provide a coherent learning process
through lectures, open debates, and applying participatory methods
where participants are encouraged to be active and dynamic,
making contributions in the sessions and in-group work.
The course promotes a dynamic and proactive attitude of the
participants; taking into account the unprecedented global changes,
the course highlights the challenge that there are no single answers,
instead, there is a necessity to combine global changes with local
challenges;
Participants are encouraged to find globally relevant answers for
their field and area of work and to creatively engage in different
forms of lifelong learning and advocacy.

16. All ICAE’s capacity
building strategies:
Promote and are rooted on a human rights perspective.
Include an inter-linkage analysis, connecting issues that have an
effect on each other, as care for the environment, health matters,
human rights, income-generation, empowering women and
enhancing the overall quality of education.
Have global perspective with a multi-cultural approach, that
encourages people to view concepts, issues, themes, and
problems from several ethnic perspectives and points of view.
Have gender perspective looks at the impact of gender on
people's opportunities, social roles and interactions.

17. Thank you!