Which Side Are You On? Workers Education in a Changing World. Report of the International Seminar on Workers Education in Asia (Colombo, Sri Lanka, October 23-27, 1986).

Overview & Synopsis

This report pulls together various issues discussed during an international seminar on workers' education in Asia. It also outlines the key elements of the future program on workers' education. A presentation by Budd Hall, Secretary-General of the International Council for Adult Education (ICAE), discusses the role of the council in adult education and its current focus. The next section addresses the current global crisis, which provides the context in which one needs to understand workers' education, its meaning, and its potential. A brief description of workers' education in Sri Lanka is followed by a discussion of its meaning and purposes. Three concrete examples of workers' education in different Asian countries are presented and discussed in detail: in free trade zones, in the plantation sector, and with women workers. Critical aspects of workers' education in each of these three areas are listed. A brief overview of workers' education in Nicaragua is followed by a section that highlights key issues, such as the purpose of education, its meaning, issues of living, the methodology of education, and cultural hegemony. Other contents include excerpts from the speech of S. G. Taylor, Director of the International Labour Organisation's Colombo Office; a listing of future directions; and the agenda. (YLB)