eVALBEC June 2007
This is the electronic newsletter of VALBEC, the Victorian Adult Literacy and Basic Education Council, and is sent to about 850 practitioners on the first of each month (other than January). It is also available in the ‘News’ section of our web site http://www.valbec.org.au
Disclaimer: The activities, goods and services mentioned in eVALBEC are not endorsed by VALBEC in any way. People should make their own judgment about the suitability of each item.
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IN THIS ISSUE OF e-VALBEC:
1. ACAL Conference in New Zealand – September 2007
2. VALBEC Annual General Meeting and Twilight Forum - Thursday June 21, 2007
3. Fancy Footwork: adult educators thinking on their feet
4. VALBEC Conference – Living Literacies
5. Literacy Live forums (ACAL)
6. CGEA and VCAL workshops at CAE
7. 2007 FECCA Congress, Tasmania, July 30 & 31
8. Free stationery and cheap furniture
9. Subscribe to eVALBEC?
10. Unsubscribe?
11. Contact VALBEC
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1. ACAL Conference in New Zealand – September 2007
Confirmed keynote speakers include
The conference jointly hosted by Workbase, Literacy Aotearoa and the National Association of ESOL Home Tutors on behalf of the Australian Council for Adult Literacy (ACAL), will be held at The Langham Hotel from Friday 28 to Saturday 29 September.
The theme for the conference is the power of and which reflects the breadth and diversity of adult literacy and language practices.  The power of and reflects our need to bring together learning from many fields and experiences so that we can continually respond and adapt to the challenges in adult literacy and language.
More information on registering for the conference and pre-conference workshop is available through the Workbase website http://www.workbase.org.nz or email helen@conference.co.nz
Submissions for the conference may also be made via the web site http://www.workbase.org.nz and are due now.
Fees are likely to be announced on the web site next week.
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2. VALBEC Annual General Meeting and Twilight Forum - Thursday June 21, 2007
Kew Neighbourhood House, 2-12 Derby St, Kew. Melways 46 D5
6.30 pm for light refreshments, the AGM at 7 pm then, at 8.00 pm, a Twilight Forum with a NZ speaker via a virtual meeting room.
Members and friends of VALBEC are invited to the Annual General Meeting of the Council and the Twilight Forum.
RSVP by June 16th 2007 to info@valbec.org.au
Twilight Forum:
Our guest speaker will be Marica Sevelj and she'll join us from New Zealand via the ACAL virtual meeting room. She’ll talk about social networking and in particular about blogs. Marica currently works at Open Polytechnic in NZ in a role as an elearning tutor but has done lots of work in numeracy with adult learners in NZ. She was also a New Zealand Flexible Learning Leader and is now moving into blogging and digital stories. This Twilight Forum will be in conjunction with the ACAL Literacy Live Forum!
More details at http://www.valbec.org.au
Copy and paste Marica Sevelj into Google and see the range of activities with which she’s involved.
Annual General Meeting:
Members are invited to attend and hear reports on the 2006 VALBEC year and elect their representatives for the coming year. The agenda for the AGM is to receive reports and elect new office bearers. Members will receive a notification in the mail.
VALBEC Committee nominations http://www.valbec.org.au/ then ‘Governance’
Consider what you can do for VALBEC and what VALBEC does for you!
Are you a committed, active and informed practitioner? Do you enjoy engaging in dialogue with colleagues over a meal and a glass of wine? Do you have strong ideas about how the adult literacy, basic education and numeracy fields have evolved and should continue to develop? Then consider “stepping up” to join the VALBEC committee at the AGM. The VALBEC committee is a dynamic and collaborative group who meet once a month to discuss, plan and take action on behalf of members and the ALBE field.
VALBEC is always open to new members on the committee so consider nominating yourself or a colleague to join this energetic and hard working group.
Call one of the committee to discuss what is involved in being on the VALBEC committee:
Lynne Matheson 0409 592 164
Ann Haynes 03 9269 8381
John Radalj 03 5225 0788
Pauline O’Maley 93720675
Jeannie Turnbull 03 5434 1432
Teresa Cusack 03 9269 8381
Debbie Soccio  03 9919 8545
Yvonne Russell 03 9217 8459
Corinna Ridley  99198741
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3. Fancy Footwork: adult educators thinking on their feet
“(Well, if you’re like me)...you’ll be surprised and delighted by this book because it goes into places I’d never even think to go to by myself and likely you wouldn’t either” Helen Macrae
This book invites you to travel in the footsteps of a group of women, all adult educators from Melbourne, Australia. In their desire to explore the spirit of adult education, they met and wrote regularly over two years. Their reflections, collected here, take you inside their world. With you, they share what teaching means to them. Writing of joys, dilemmas and dangers, they reveal the complexities of teachers' lives and teaching work.
Read these stories and you might very well find yourself heading in new directions.
You can go into the draw for a free copy of Fancy Footwork by going to our web site and clicking on ‘member offer’ on the right hand side.
You can also purchase a copy of Fancy Footwork via the VALBEC web site http://www.valbec.org.au/05/fancyfoot.htm
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4. VALBEC Conference – Living Literacies
A great event and you can still take part. If you didn’t make it to the conference (May 3) or you missed out on a session visit the VALBEC web site http://www.valbec.org.au
Many presentations, including audio files, are available for download.
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5. Literacy Live forums (ACAL)
The next ACAL Literacy Live Forum is on June 21 and brings together a New Zealand speaker and the VALBEC AGM and participants from across Australia. Details http://acal.edu.au
Or just go back to the item above about the VALBEC AGM. The AGM and the Literacy Live Forum will share a speaker. The AGM attendees will be in Kew, our speaker, Marica Sevelj will be in NZ and the forum participants can be anywhere they choose!
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6. CGEA and VCAL workshops at CAE
CAE will be conducting three workshops in the second half of the year. These are designed to support CGEA and VCAL teachers and coordinators.
VCAL Day – Jumping in the Deep End (Wednesday 25th July 2007)
The new CGEA Day - a detailed look at all aspects of the new CGEA  (Friday 21st September 2007)
VCAL and CGEA 2-Day Summer School  (Monday 3rd & Tuesday 4th December 2007)
Where: all workshops will be held at CAE, 253 Flinders Lane, Melbourne
Costs: One day workshops: $210.00; two day workshops $330.00
For further information please email projects@cae.edu.au or go to the PD section of the SAALT website at: http://www.saalt.com.au/profdev.html for more details and an enrolment form.
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7. 2007 FECCA Congress, Tasmania, July 30 & 31
The 2007 FECCA Congress will be held at the Wrest Point Resort in Hobart, Tasmania on July 30 & 31.
FECCA (Federation of Ethnic Communities Council of Australia) is the Australian national peak body that promotes multiculturalism, community harmony and social justice.
Details http://www.fecca.org.au/Congress/Home.cfm
Speakers include
The Hon Kevin Andrews MP,  Minister for Immigration and Citizenship
Jane Elliott is an internationally known teacher, lecturer, diversity trainer, and recipient of the United States National Mental Health Association Award for Excellence in Education who devised the controversial and startling "Blue Eyes/Brown Eyes" diversity exercise
Tony Burke MP Shadow Minister for Immigration, Integration and Citizenship
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8. Free stationery and cheap furniture
As part of their Reuse Program, Green Collect ( http://www.greencollect.org/ )is working with the Yarra-Melbourne Regional Library Corporation (In Liquidation) to distribute surplus office equipment to the community. Items available will be
- stationery (free to community groups)
- furniture (desks, filing cabinets, shelving etc) for a minimal cost
These goods will be available for 4 weeks only, please set aside the following dates to collect these goods
Monday 4th June, Thursday 7th June
Tuesday 12th June, Thursday 14th June
Monday 18th June, Thursday 21st June
Monday 25th June
Time to collect items will be between 10am and 4pm at 54-56 Langridge Street, Collingwood VIC 3066
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9. Subscribe to eVALBEC?
Click this link <mailto:info@valbec.org.au?subject=eVALBEC_Subscribe> and we’ll put you on the list to receive this monthly enewsletter.
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Just click this link <mailto:info@valbec.org.au?subject=eVALBEC_Unsubscribe> (no typing required!) and hit Send or, send an e-mail with the word Unsubscribe in the subject.
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11. Contact VALBEC
eVALBEC is the monthly electronic newsletter of (VALBEC) the Victorian Adult Literacy  and Basic Education Council.
E-mail: info@valbec.org.au
Web: http://www.valbec.org.au
Postal: Box 861 Springvale South VIC 3172
Ph: 03 9546 6892
Fax: 03 9546 0421