Mosaic just a tad ironic

Photo: NEIL DUDDY

GROUND WORK: Age Concern Counties Manukau executive officer Wendy Bremner with the mosaic celebrating adult learning, installed just as funding’s been cut.

Here lies ACE – loved in life and missed in death.

That’s what the new mosaic celebrating adult community education at Age Concern Counties Manukau should read.

Executive officer Wendy Bremner says it’s ironic the mosaic – bearing the message "adult learning is ace" – was gifted just as the government cut adult education funding.

"When the actual existence of adult community education had just been put in jeopardy," she adds.

Designed by Robyn Pelham, the four pieces of the mosaic were created at different Manukau community centres during Adult Learners Week in September last year.

A year later, there was little to celebrate during Adult Learners Week because 80 percent of adult community education funding had just been cut.

"What it means, especially for Manukau, is that learners who are already disadvantaged will be even more disadvantaged. Literacy and numeracy are the priorities of the new funding – it ignores things like language, culture and social-isation. And the opportunity to just learn and achieve."

Adult community education is about offering members of community life-long learning, she says.

"It’s extremely sad if the only focus for learning is how you can fit it into paid work."

Nevertheless mayor Len Brown unveiled the sculpture on September 11 and Ms Bremner hopes it will again be relevant one day.

- © Fairfax NZ News