conference organizers gear up for registration: hundreds of participants expected to share global perspectives on regional development and lifelong learning

(january 15, 2008 --thunder bay, on) dr. seth agbo, 阿根廷vs墨西哥竞猜 education professor, chair of the department of lifelong learning, and head of the organizing committee for the upcoming conference entitled "leveraging learning for regional development: an international forum," is anticipating an impressive registration response based on the interest the june 24 - 27, 2008 event has already generated.

the international conference is being hosted by the faculty of education's department of lifelong learning, working in collaboration with confederation college. visitors will be coming to thunder bay from all over the world. they will share their thoughts and knowledge about innovative learning and training practices that promote local and regional socio-economic development.

lakehead is the only university within 700 km of northwestern ontario, and as such, agbo believes it has an obligation toward the socio-economic improvement of the region. during initial planning stages, agbo perceived the conference as a challenge and described it as ambitious - though he was certainly ready to face it. now, six months into the planning, he describes the response as incredible, noting that today is only the first day for early birds to register. "we've already been tracking interest via email, website hits, and user feedback forums, and it is coming from all corners of the world - including various levels of government."

"this conference is about exchanging ideas and knowledge - about how to transform northwestern ontario into a learning region with learning cities," agbo explains. the event will attract over 300 business, economic, technological, and educational representatives from across the globe to discuss what is referred to as a learning city - a city (and/or region) which promotes learning on a wide scale. learning cities develop effective local partnerships between all sectors of the community, while supporting and motivating individuals and employers to participate in learning activity and process. "the main purposes of learning cities are to support widening participation in lifelong learning and to leverage learning to promote social and economic development. many agree this conference couldn't come at a better time," says agbo.

"invited keynote speakers and presenters will provide new dimensions to our understanding of the evolving agendas for changing futures and transitions in lifelong learning," he adds. different perspectives and models, and their related educational and policy implications, will be highlighted, along with the unique connections between lifelong learning, social capital, and regional development. participants will explore concepts and trends in lifelong learning related to their specific areas of interest, and will have opportunities to learn more about international perspectives in those fields.

the international conference is open to anyone interested in lifelong learning and community development - from human resource and staff professionals to public policy makers or managers of both public and private organizations. it may be of particular interest and value to regional and local organizations with responsibilities and interests in leveraging learning for economic and social development, though all are certainly welcome. agbo expects all guests to benefit from the learning atmosphere on a number of levels. participants will share successes with academics, practitioners, and policy makers worldwide; experience how to create constructive learning partnerships at local, regional, national, and international levels; demonstrate the value of public and private partnerships working with academic institutions; network with people involved in learning cities and regions, and learn how social capital and lifelong learning can be utilized in building strong and sustainable communities; analyse the challenges of changing demographics; disseminate applied research findings to end-users; and demonstrate community partnership networks for social change.

early bird registration for the june 24 - 27, 2008 conference is available until march 14, after which time regular registration follows. all registration can only be completed online. additional registration and conference information can be found on the department of lifelong learning's conference micro site at http://www.theconferenceplanner.ca/lifelearning.