Learning for Wellbeing
Young or old, learning continues throughout our lives. The COVID-19 pandemic didn't put a stop to many agencies in Cork City who help us continue our lifelong learning journey.
Cork Learning City and Lifelong Learning Festival
The Cork Learning City and Cork Lifelong Learning Festival launched a campaign on March 18th called ‘Keeping our Learning communities connected’.
Three examples of the response to this call are:
- The Lantern Community Project runs a range of Community Education and Wellbeing programmes that have developed an online presence to engage vulnerable people in city centre communities - 
The Project has been established as a meeting, learning and creative space in Cork, running community education, development, solidarity- and resilience-building initiatives, and prides itself on being ‘…a place of welcome where people, no matter what their background, race, age or gender, can feel at home and voice their hopes in working for a better world…’. The project has initiated a series of online tutor sessions and wellbeing posts regularly in the weeks since March 18th and keeps connected with more vulnerable learners through regular personal calls and texts.
- Library Housebound Service: The Library Service has expended the Housebound Service since the beginning of the COVID-19 Emergency. The Housebound Service provides books and talking books to elderly and infirm patrons around the city who cannot access libraries due to mobility issues. The service has been expanded to other patrons, including book club members, and new members of the Library Service. The service is operated in full compliance with Public Health guidelines: the Driver Attendant drops the new stock at the door step and rings the patron, who then collects the items delivered. Patrons communicate their wish lists to a designated staff member in each library location, to ensure they get the materials they themselves want.
- Stay At Home Library: The www.corkcitylibraries.ie website has been offering a custom-designed digital resource since the early days of the COVID-19 Emergency. This brings together our eBook and eAudiobook collections, plus online newspapers and magazines, and online language learning resources. Library staff have also created digital content specifically for Cork City patrons, both children and adults. This content includes videos of story time for small kids, and suggested digital reads, plus some music content.
- Cork Heritage Week and Cork Heritage Open Day websites are looking to create a series of virtual events for Heritage Week including Heritage talks.
- Heritage Grants Scheme – this scheme is allowing for heritage work carried out by local heritage groups to continue in the city. Organisations supported under this grant scheme such as Cork Folklore Project have a large online catalogue that can be accessed by the public.
Cork Education & Training Board: Creative Steps to Wellbeing
Cork Education and Training Board launched their new online programme, ‘Creative Steps to Wellbeing’, a selection of videos devised and compiled by Cork ETB to help us all in some way during the pandemic.
The new online programme aims to provide a positive focus by encouraging users to learn and develop fulfilling life-long skills taught and explored through a series of workshops which people can access in their own time and study at their own pace.
The workshops which are delivered by professional tutors and trainers cover areas such as: Crushing Anxiety, Defeating the Ego, Stress Reduction, Dealing with Grief & Loss, Goal Setting, Yoga – Building Your Immune System, Reflections/Meditations, Mindfulness, Art Therapies and Life Stories.
Although our doors are closed to the public you can continue to use our online services. You can join online.
You can borrow eBooks, eMagazines, eNewspapers, listen to music, take an online course, all free with your library card. You can browse Cork Past and Present, or our Interactive Timeline 1918 to 1923, or browse our online exhibitions.
Mayfield Community Adult Learning Project C.A.L.P.
Mayfield Community Adult learning Project (CALP) is a sub-project of Mayfield Integrated Community Development Project CLG which works actively to promote activities and programmes that increase learning and well being in the community. Currently we are running a wide range of online courses including Flower Arranging, Personal development and digital skills such as “How to Zoom!”