The role of adult education in the development of local identity

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to demonstrate the role that adult education has played in the development of local identity. This includes provision of a brief outline of the development and significance of smaller local communities in Slovenian history. As an example, a description is given of the development of local communities in the regions of Gorioka and of Trieste and its environs during the second half of the 19th c. Attention is given to the beginnings of the adult instruction and education activities which were conducted in the various societies, where membership was voluntary. There, the local members learnt from one another, transferred their knowledge and experience, and- with the stimul us of regional encouragement - took care of the development of their region and, consequently, their own personal development. As it was in the past, so it still is today: those who are most concerned for the development of the local community are the individuals who, within their own region, have felt the need to gain new opportunities for a deeper recognition of the local identity. This need is also linked to the history of the area and of the local or regional community. It is only through recognition and understanding of the history of the region, and of life in the local community, that people are better able to shape their own identity and attachment to the region, and hence to form and plan its further development.