Is there a topic in adult learning and education that would resonate with adult educators from across the globe: those based in Latin America, Middle East, as well as Europe? The last edition of the IALLA, ICAE’s Academy of Lifelong Learning Advocacy, hosted by the Arab House for Adult Education and Development, took place in Beirut, Lebanon last April and focused on adult education and women. As a woman coming from Poland, where our reproductive rights are being drastically curbed, I could not think of a more timely topic. 

Together with 16 participants from 12 countries, we explored feminist epistemology, embodied learning and public pedagogy during workshops and lectures run by Katarina Popovic, Secretary-General of ICAE, and Maja Maksimovic, Assistant Professor at the Department of Pedagogy and Andragogy at the Faculty of Philosophy of the University of Belgrade. Most importantly, we learned from each other, and I was constantly inspired by the wealth and breadth of experience among the participants. 

We continued the exchange in between the sessions, at breakfast and in the evenings. From supporting women’s mental health in times of political and economic instability in Lebanon, to the use of art-based pedagogy in the design of public spaces in Uruguay, I am sharing what is only a snapshot of my discussions with five adult educators who work in women’s empowerment in their communities. 

Emptying the fear

“We’re a country that witnesses wars and internal conflicts all the time. So dealing with trauma is something that we keep doing, and it's part of my job,” tells me Samar Sahyoun when I ask her about her work as an adult educator in Lebanon.

In her professional life, Samar wears many hats. She trains teachers, works in family education, and is the Secretary for Women’s Affairs in Lebanon’s Youth Movement. She also supports women who are in the process of getting a divorce.

From left to right: Elsy Wakil, AHAED; Samar Sahyoun, Katarina Popovic, ICAE

According to Samar, the multiple crises that the country is facing have contributed to a general feeling of anxiety in society, which has also affected adult education. 

“We have had so many economic and security challenges in Lebanon. For sure, you have heard of the explosion that we had in Beirut in 2020. Because of the high inflation, people haven’t been able to retrieve their money from banks. They’re not able to pay tuition fees for their children. Our public schools are on strike. We are even lacking medicines,” says Samar.  “We don’t feel safe, and a lot of people are just emptying their fear.”

In this context, her work with women, especially in the area of mental health, has become particularly important. Facing constant pressure and responsibility to take care of their families, they tend to forget about their own needs.

“Working with women on that level is multifaceted,” she continues. “It’s often difficult for me as an adult educator, because I don’t always know the personal context. It’s complicated work, sometimes it’s individual, sometimes it’s group work.”

Samar gives an example of a recent workshop that she did with 80 women in the North of Lebanon, which aimed to help the participants connect with their inner selves. 

“The nice thing about it was that the age range was very wide: I had people in their 30s and people in their 70s,” says Samar.

According to her, there is an increasing awareness among women in Lebanon about the importance of self-care and mental health. 

“We have NGOs that provide free counselling and support, and sometimes there is so much interest that there are waiting lists. More and more women are becoming self-educated, they find resources online. I notice that Lebanese women are now reading books and watching movies that speak about mental health,” she tells me. 

There are multiple topics that Samar would like to focus more on in the future, such as policy and advocacy (“We have laws that aim to improve women’s rights and give them more power, but they are not necessarily being implemented,” she says). She is particularly interested in improving the economic independence of women, including small-business entrepreneurship. “I would like to see more initiatives in which women are encouraged to make their own products and sell them,” she says, looking ahead.

Sharing our truths

For Shanez Kechroud from e-graines, improving financial capabilities is key to supporting women’s economic independence.

Together with another trainer, Shanez runs workshops in the south of Algeria for women who produce handicraft. While her colleague focuses on the design of the products, Shanez helps participants with the administrative side of their work. 

From left to right: Shanez Kechroud, Elsy Wakil, Katarina Popovic

“We look together at how to calculate the costs of the material and the revenue. A lot of it is about being able to plan ahead, and asking yourself questions like - how much do I need to sell to pay this amount? I also help them make a request to get an artisan card, and count in the fee for it that they will need to include in their planning,” says Shanez. 

According to Shanez, improving financial capabilities is often connected to other life skills. 

“We noticed that some of our participants struggled with literacy - for example, in a group of six women, three wouldn’t be able to read or write,” she says. “This meant that I couldn’t work with them, and it really bothered me, as having the financial capabilities is very important: many of the women were selling at a loss,” she continues. 

To address this gap, Shanez and her colleague reached out to the National Literacy Office in Algeria and asked for contacts with local schools and educators that offered literacy courses. Linking the participants with them brought uplifting results. 

“In each of my three workshops, I had three women who started literacy classes and were very happy about them. They still call me to keep me posted on their achievements; they now do more things on their own, for example going on YouTube to look up videos that their children sent them,” says Shanez.

The connection to the participants of her workshops is something that Shanez finds very important in her experience as an adult educator. Her workshops include small groups and take place in the homes of the participants, which brings out a feeling of intimacy.

“You sit on the floor together, you eat together, it creates a connection. It’s a process,” she says. She gives an example of her recent workshop, in which she saw changes happen bit by bit. “On the first day, all the women were wearing headscarves. On the second day, they took them off. On the third day, we put some music on, and we all started to dance together.” 

Shanez adds that she finds it important to create a relationship of equality. “They already have their own way of working with the material, and we always try to get to know their method. It’s a process of co-creation. Also on a human level, I’ve learnt so much from them, from their wisdom and resilience,” she continues. 

She comes back to one topic that we have been discussing during the training: post-colonial approaches to what counts as knowledge, and who owns it.

“Who has the truth?,” she asks. “We come together to share our truths.” 

In the next blog post from the IALLA, we will explore feminist perspectives in adult learning in Nigeria and in Latin America. Stay tuned!