Washington, DC - The Association of Children's Museums (ACM); in partnership with the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC), a division of the American Library Association; Families and Work Institute; and the Civil Society Institute; is pleased to announce a $110,318 grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) to conduct a groundbreaking conference that will explore the importance of early learning in shaping lifelong learners. "The 21st Century Learner: The Continuum Begins with Early Learning," a two-day conference scheduled for Fall 2003 in Washington, DC, will delve into how young children learn and how this knowledge about learning can be applied in a multitude of public forums and settings.

Janet Rice Elman, Executive Director of ACM stated, "Creating a nation of learners is imperative in the rapidly changing world of the 21st Century. A child's first five years sets the foundation for how a child learns for life. We will explore how our community organizations can work together to help parents pave a path of learning that will last a lifetime."

The project will build on the 21st Century Learner Conference convened by IMLS in 2001, which sparked discussion around the needs of lifelong learners in the 21st century and how national and local partners can unite to support lifelong learning communities. Robert S. Martin, Ph.D., Director, IMLS, commented, "IMLS is pleased to co-host this important symposium as part of the 21st Century Learner Initiative. We feel that this symposium will impress upon leaders in informal education the potential for bold learning partnerships around early learning. In a knowledge-based economy, learning across the life span is becoming increasingly essential, and early learning is the crucial first step."

Lifelong learning needs to be redefined and established as a continuum that begins with early childhood. This assertion is grounded in neuroscience that confirms that the first years of life are essential to future learning. Not only are the building blocks for cognitive, social, regulatory and emotional development established during the early years, but also early learning experiences directly contribute to a child's attitude and motivation toward learning throughout life. Guided by this research, the convening partners will focus on early childhood learning and look at the role of museums, libraries, nonprofit's and public broadcasting in early childhood partnerships that serve communities.

The goals of the project are to: 1) extend IMLS' community of discourse about challenging new opportunities for museums, libraries and other strategic partners to use their unique resources in support of lifelong learning rooted in the early years; 2) model how community-wide partnerships can take advantage of cultural resources to offer early learning programming in their own communities; 3) provide intellectual fodder and financial incentive to museums, libraries and others seeking to develop early learning collaborations at the local level; and 4) position museums and libraries as integral players in the early learning community at the national and local levels.

Seeding local collaboration, participants will be encouraged to attend the symposium as part of a collaborative team and will be eligible to apply for one of three awards to support local partnerships for early learning. Along with the strategic partners, a National Advisory Committee, involving leaders in early learning and community building, will be responsible for developing content, disseminating the results and evaluating the impact of the conference.

The program will feature thought-provoking speakers who will share their unique perspectives and research on lifelong learning in the 21st century, challenging participants to think expansively about issues facing children, families and communities. As a lasting product, the convening partners will produce and publish a white paper that will be disseminated to museums, libraries, funding agencies, strategic partners, government and the media.

The two-day symposium is part of a larger campaign being developed by the convening partners and professionals in the early learning arena that is intended to move toward the creation of a lifelong learning community beginning at birth. It will be part of a professional learning continuum that was launched with the IMLS Conference in 2001and may lead to future symposia and conferences on lifelong learning. It will also demonstrate how national organizations can work together to encourage local learning collaborations and will share resources, research on learning, and case studies of how local partners can build lifelong learning communities nationwide.

ACM is the professional service organization that endeavors to expand the capacity and further the vision of children's museums around the world. ACM's vision is to bring children and families together in a new kind of town square where play inspires lifelong learning. In 2001, over 31 million children and families visited ACM member museums.