This article captures the involvement of international organizations that have played active roles in Adult education. These bodies are either governmental or non-governmental organizations.
There is also the categorization between those bodies that place Adult Education as their only objectives, those bodies of education as part of their major functions, and those bodies that place some very little educational content in their operations.
These bodies were set up by the government, by the government agency, by a group of individuals, or by international organizations who have taken responsibility for the establishment and funding of adult education programs.
The broad classification of the international organization according to Townsend (1981) includes:
1. GLOBAL ORGANIZATIONS
Contents
Non-governmental organizations
- With adult education as their exclusive concern
- In which adult education forms an important aspect of their work.
Inter-governmental organizations
- With adult education as an important point of their work
- With some interest in adult education
Trusts and charitable institutions
2. REGIONAL (CONTINENTAL) ORGANIZATIONS
Non-governmental organizations
- With adult education as their exclusive concern
- With some interest in adult education
Inter-governmental organizations
1. GLOBAL ORGANIZATIONS
Non-governmental organizations
- Global non-governmental organizations with adult education as their exclusive concern include:
International Council for Correspondence Education
International Federation of Workers Educational Association
International Congress of University Adult Education
International Council for Adult Education
International Council for Correspondence Education
The main objectives of this council include the following:
- Promoting knowledge and improving correspondence education throughout the world.
- Exchanging information concerning the growth and organization of correspondence education
- Undertaking research in correspondence education throughout the world.
International Federation of Workers’ Educational Association
The association was founded in 1947 and its main objective is the promotion of co-operation between it and the national bodies who have responsibilities for workers education.
The IFWEA promotes staff development training programs through various strategies such as the exchange of information, publications, house services, summer schools, and conferences.
International Congress of University Adult Education
This congress was founded in 1960 and its objectives include the following:
- promoting communication and cooperation between adult education trainees in colleges of education and universities throughout the world.
- Performing consultative roles with UNESCO
- organizing international conferences
- discussing matters of mutual concern among adult educators in tertiary institutions
- organizing regional meetings and seminars for its members; and
- publishing adult education journals quarterly and occasional papers on adult education curricula for the university.
- Non-governmental organization in which adult education forms an important part of their work.
Some of the international non-governmental organizations in which adult education constitutes a significant part of their work include:
Boys Scout World Bureau
International Council of Women
International Alliance of Women
International Planned Parenthood Federation
International Federation for Parent Education
World Alliance of Young Men’s Christian Association
World Young Women’s Christian Association
The above list is not exhaustive but in all these organizations, adult education forms an important aspect of their work.
- Non-governmental Organizations in which there is some educational content in their work.
- Some of the international governmental organizations in which there is some educational content in their work include churches, universities, the press, trade unions, broadcasting, engineering, science, commerce, mass communication, libraries, and health.
The international organizations that are concerned with particular groups in society or where membership is confined to certain categories of people.
They are The blind, Mentally and physically handicapped, Journalists, Youths, University staff, Authors, Architect and Protestants. The above case is inexhaustible
Inter-governmental organization
Inter-governmental organizations with adult education as an important part of their work.
The United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization was founded in 1946 and it has contributed quite immensely towards the development of adults as a discipline and as a profession.
This organization is based in Paris and has its South Africa Regional Office at Dakar in Senegal. It has the following functions:
- Promoting educational, scientific, and cultural development
- Exchanging views among adult educators throughout the world.
- Assisting with adult education programs
- Convening international conferences, regional meetings, and seminars
- Sponsoring publications, journals, and newsletters
- Recruiting and sustaining field experts in adult education at the request of member states
- Promoting the concept of functional literacy.
- Promoting lifelong and continuing education
- The main concern of UNESCO is the issue of illiteracy and indeed, it occupies a central position among the organizations pursuing functional literacy.
Inter-governmental organizations with some interest in adult education
The inter-governmental organizations with some interest in adult education include:
- The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations with its interest in agricultural extension work.
- The International Labour Organization with its interest in workers’ education
- The World Health Organization with its interest in heath education.\
The three organizations identified above concern themselves with only their respective areas of interest in adult education.
Trust and charitable institutions
These are the philanthropic institutions that have contributed immensely towards the development of adult education. These are:
The Ford Foundations
The Carnegie Foundations
The Nuffield Foundations
The Peacock Foundations
The Kellog Foundations
The Fredrick Ebert Foundations
These charitable organizations have sponsored many adult education programs and have construed physical structures for institutions running adult education programs.
2. REGIONAL (CONTINENTAL) ORGANIZATIONS
Non-governmental organization
- Regional non-governmental organizations with adult education as their exclusive concern.
These organizations are classified on a continental basis and the four regional organizations include: the African Adult Education Association, the Asia and South Pacific Bureau of Adult Education, the European Bureau of Adult Education ND Federation inter-American de Adultos, FIDEA
It will be observed that North America has no continental organization. The functions of the above four regional international organizations include the following:
- Providing opportunities for adult educators who are operating in almost identical environments and facing almost similar problems to interact with one another.
- Disseminating useful information to members through journals, newsletters, conferences, seminars, and workshops.
- Providing a forum for consultation among the national adult organizations.
- Coordinating researchers on behalf of their members.
Other Regional non-governmental organizations with some interest in adult education are as follows:
Association of African Universities
Association for Teacher Education in Africa
Association of Arab Universities
Union of Latin American Universities
Inter-governmental organization
The regional or continental inter-governmental organizations have physical political and economic concerns, yet they still have an interest in education. These include:
The Organization of African Unity (OAU)
The Council of Europe
The South Pacific Commission
Economic Commission for Africa
The organization has the following functions:
- Contributing towards the development of education and adult education
- Sponsoring conferences and training seminars through specialized commission
- Promoting valuable and wealthy literature on adult education, and,
- Disseminating useful information to their members.
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