On Wednesday, 23 September, staff and tutors from Adult Learning Wales attended the Learning and Work Institute’s annual Inspire! Learner Awards at Cardiff’s Coal Exchange. It was an inspiring evening celebrating the remarkable achievements of adult learners across Wales.

Among those representing Adult Learning Wales was Celine Yon-Durham, a Counselling Skills tutor, and Action Research Researcher. Celine, who is also a blogger, kindly shared her personal experience of the evening. Read her blog below:

It was only by chance that, as part of the staff team at Adult Learning Wales, I was given the opportunity to attend the prestigious Inspire! Adult Learning Awards, held at the beautiful Coal Exchange in Cardiff on Wednesday evening.

From the confirmation emails, I gathered that this was going to be an evening where a gown would be required and my best manners needed to be firmly in place.

What I certainly did not expect was to feel such a rush of emotion during the awards.

I had worked all day as a secondary school teacher, rushed home, put on my best long black dress with a black lace bolero, made a last-minute dash to the pound shop for a brighter lipstick than my usual, and hitched a lift in my daughter’s C5.

By the time I arrived at the Coal Exchange Hotel, I was feeling rather glamorous, but also slightly anxious, as I didn’t really know anyone.

The venue was impressive, and I immediately felt excited and privileged to be part of the event.

I have always loved learning. I believe learning doesn’t stop when you leave school and start work. It continues throughout our lives, enriching them in ways we sometimes don’t appreciate until much later.

“Learning is the way out of poverty.”

That was something my mother repeated to me many times when I was growing up.

She came from a very rural and impoverished background and was encouraged first by her parents, and later driven by sheer determination, to climb the very steep ladder of Information Technology. From her early days working at IBM at the end of the 1960s, she progressed into managerial positions before eventually retiring. She learnt English as an adult and was my inspiration for moving to the UK when I was 19.

That inspiration has always stayed with me.

I loved teaching and, for many years, never really thought of myself as anything else. But life has taken me on something of a rollercoaster: from a PGCE, to a Counselling Diploma, and now, somewhat unexpectedly perhaps, to a Law degree.

And yet the awards evening was an eye-opener for me.

Adult learners come in all shapes and sizes. They are diverse in every possible sense. They can sometimes be challenging and sometimes be challenged themselves, but the learning that takes place can be every bit as rewarding for the tutor as it is for the learner.

I was blown away by the determination of some of the award winners.

Despite adversity, they had not only shown that they were capable of achieving remarkable things, but demonstrated how learning could change their lives, influence the lives of those around them and inspire countless others.

I am turning 50 in a few weeks, and I am still learning.

I hope that my Law degree will satisfy my seemingly endless craving for finding things out, asking questions and understanding how things work.

But, deep down, I know better.

I know I will simply find something else I want to learn next.

The evening was presented by Nia Parry, our very own President and an outstanding ambassador for adult learning. She moved effortlessly between Welsh and English in much the same way that my own multilingual brain jumps between languages. She had studied counselling, as I did many years ago, and although we looked drastically different in our evening gowns, the similarities made me smile.

Perhaps that is part of what makes adult learning so special.

As human beings, we are constantly looking for ways to develop, understand and improve ourselves.

Adult learning provides a platform for people who may not have had the opportunity to enjoy, participate, explore or achieve during their school years. It gives people another chance, sometimes a second, third or fourth chance, to discover what they are capable of.

That makes adult learning not simply important, but vital.

I want to congratulate all of the winners, but a few particularly stayed with me.

Aaron Jones, for being an absolute star and taking over that microphone like a boss!

Yassmein Hussein, for her resilience and determination not only to make a difference to her own life, but to her community.

Julia Anderson, for demonstrating beautifully that age really is only a number when it comes to learning new skills.

And Honney, who showed us that being a woman in a male-dominated industry is not only feasible, but something that should be actively encouraged.

To all the Inspire! learners and winners: a huge congratulations.

And to Adult Learning Wales: thank you for allowing me to be part of such a special evening.

It reminded me that our role as tutors is much needed. What we do matters. Sometimes we may not immediately see the impact of a lesson, a conversation, a little encouragement or simply somebody believing in a learner, but those things can become part of a much bigger journey.

The evening reminded me why I teach, why I tutor and why all the invisible work matters.

But it also reminded me why I learn.

And finally, a little note to Nia: Thank you for taking the time to talk to me, for discussing our multilingualism and comparing gowns!

I might just take you up on that offer to teach me Welsh.

Perhaps we could arrange a swap.

Welsh for French?

After all, I’m nearly 50.

I think it’s time I learned another language. Especially from my adopted country. Although in all fairness I can understand the difference between cinio and brechdanau.

Celine Yon-Durham

If you would like to read more of Celine’s blogs, please visit her page here