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08/04/2025
BCC Announces Return Of Belfast Learning Festival
The Belfast Learning Festival has returned for its eighth year, offering a packed programme of 130 free activities across the city this week.
From Wednesday 9th to Sunday 13th April, residents and visitors can take part in free lessons covering a diverse range of skills, including podcasting, juggling, sewing, and cooking.
The annual celebration of lifelong learning, supported by numerous community-based organisations in partnership with Belfast City Council, aims to encourage people to acquire new skills or rediscover existing ones. This year’s festival is themed ‘Creating Connections’, highlighting how learning can link individuals with knowledge, skills, and each other.
A new addition to the festival line-up is ‘Plays Aloud’ by local theatre group Commedia of Errors. This innovative and inclusive initiative showcases the theme in action through nostalgia-based musical performances and arts workshops at Clifton House Care Home. The event demonstrates how the arts can enhance engagement for individuals living with dementia, inspiring both residents and care professionals and highlighting the benefits of learning for personal and professional development.
Deputy Lord Mayor, Andrew McCormick, welcomed the festival’s return, stating: "The Belfast Learning Festival symbolises our city’s continued commitment to the promotion of lifelong learning for everyone. The incredible range of learning opportunities for all ages puts people at the heart of learning. The brilliant variety of workshops, tours and performances connects us all – to new ideas, places and each other.
"In 2021, we were honoured to receive the prestigious UNESCO Learning Cities Award for Excellence, recognising our city’s efforts in creating inclusive learning opportunities for all. This vision can only be achieved through city wide collaboration. We are pleased to work alongside so many partners across Belfast to deliver a festival that continues to embody the benefits of a joined-up approach to learning, where opportunities are not just available but are actively connected, promoted and accessible for all."
Clare McMahon, Co-Creative of Commedia of Errors, explained their enthusiasm for participating in the festival for the first time: "We are passionate about connecting with our community. We utilise the arts as a powerful tool to improve wellbeing and enrich lives. Participation in the arts can address social, economic, geographic, and health-related challenges. That’s why we’re delighted to be part of the Belfast Learning Festival because it champions all these ambitions. With a focus on older adults, our Plays Aloud programme proves that it’s never too late to learn a new skill, share a laugh, a song, or a story. With a focus on delivering nostalgia-based musical performances and arts workshops for those living with dementia, it showcases the value of lifelong learning and how it creates an inclusive society."
To find out more about the Belfast Learning Festival and view the full programme, visit Belfast Learning Festival.
From Wednesday 9th to Sunday 13th April, residents and visitors can take part in free lessons covering a diverse range of skills, including podcasting, juggling, sewing, and cooking.
The annual celebration of lifelong learning, supported by numerous community-based organisations in partnership with Belfast City Council, aims to encourage people to acquire new skills or rediscover existing ones. This year’s festival is themed ‘Creating Connections’, highlighting how learning can link individuals with knowledge, skills, and each other.
A new addition to the festival line-up is ‘Plays Aloud’ by local theatre group Commedia of Errors. This innovative and inclusive initiative showcases the theme in action through nostalgia-based musical performances and arts workshops at Clifton House Care Home. The event demonstrates how the arts can enhance engagement for individuals living with dementia, inspiring both residents and care professionals and highlighting the benefits of learning for personal and professional development.
"In 2021, we were honoured to receive the prestigious UNESCO Learning Cities Award for Excellence, recognising our city’s efforts in creating inclusive learning opportunities for all. This vision can only be achieved through city wide collaboration. We are pleased to work alongside so many partners across Belfast to deliver a festival that continues to embody the benefits of a joined-up approach to learning, where opportunities are not just available but are actively connected, promoted and accessible for all."
Clare McMahon, Co-Creative of Commedia of Errors, explained their enthusiasm for participating in the festival for the first time: "We are passionate about connecting with our community. We utilise the arts as a powerful tool to improve wellbeing and enrich lives. Participation in the arts can address social, economic, geographic, and health-related challenges. That’s why we’re delighted to be part of the Belfast Learning Festival because it champions all these ambitions. With a focus on older adults, our Plays Aloud programme proves that it’s never too late to learn a new skill, share a laugh, a song, or a story. With a focus on delivering nostalgia-based musical performances and arts workshops for those living with dementia, it showcases the value of lifelong learning and how it creates an inclusive society."
To find out more about the Belfast Learning Festival and view the full programme, visit Belfast Learning Festival.
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Northern Ireland WeatherToday:A sunny but frosty start for many. However cloud increases by midday with a few showers reaching the north coast, these mostly light but spreading inland this afternoon. Chilly. Maximum temperature 8 °C.Tonight:A rather cloudy evening with scattered showers. Becoming drier through the night with some good clear spells developing and a patchy frost away from coasts. Minimum temperature 0 °C.
