Entrepreneurial Learning City Regions Delivering on the UNESCO 2013, Beijing Declaration on Building Learning Cities

Judith James has experience in higher education management, particularly in adult continuing education, equality and diversity, employability, entrepreneurial learning and widening participation. Her current role is Head of Strategic Regional Collaboration at Swansea University.  She was a member of the UNESCO International Expert Group on Developing Learning Cities and contributed to the development of the UNESCO Global Network of Learning Cities. Judith was influential in bringing the Learning City initiative to Swansea and developed the Swansea Case Study in Unlocking the Potential of Urban Communities (UNESCO, 2015). 

Raúl Valdés-Cotera is a Senior Programme Specialist at the UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning and the Programme Manager of the UNESCO Global Network of Learning Cities. For more than ten years he has been working in international organisations in the field of lifelong learning and adult education. He has led various research and advocacy projects such as the regional report of the current situation for adult education in Latin America and more recently the Glossary for Adult Education in Latin America and the Caribbean. He co-edited (with J. Yang) Conceptual Evolution and Policy Developments in Lifelong Learning (UNESCO, 2011).

Jean Preece is an experienced ICT Programme Manager and European Project Manager in the Department for Adult Continuing Education. She has managed the training of over 3,000 disadvantaged community learners in ICT and personal development with great success in achieving employment outcomes, including self-employment. Her project 'Swansea Arrivals' supported refugees and asylum seekers to integrate into the community. She co-led a successful Grundtvig 3 year project (2003-2006) 'Parenting in a Multicultural European City' with eleven European partners. She has also participated in Transversal, Horizon, and Lingua projects, including the XPLOIT Multilateral projectwhich focused on the development of learning regions. Jean’s publications focus on the use of ICT training to enhance widening participation in higher education.