What is U3A?
U3A means "University of the Third Age". A U3A is an organisation
offering educational, creative and leisure activities
to older people not in full-time, gainful employment. Members
organise their own activities and use their skills and
knowledge to form self-help groups. No qualifications are required
and none are awarded. A U3A has "members" not "students" but
it is a university in the original sense
of the word: a collective of people devoted to learning.
In UK, U3As are financed from their own members' subscriptions.
Why "Third Age"?
First age refers here to childhood and dependence,
second age to full time employment or child rearing
and the third age to that later time in life when we have less responsiblities
and commitments and more time to pursue particular interests.
Warrington U3A has chosen to provide for those who are 50 years of age and over.
Origins
The seeds of 'Lifelong Learning for Older People' were sown at a
Summer School of the Université du Troisième Age held in Toulouse
in 1972. The U3A movement soon became worldwide; see, for example, the
'International Association of U3As' (AIUTA) and
Harrow's list of U3As worldwide.
In the UK, unlike in continental Europe and elsewhere, there was not much interest
shown in the idea of U3A by the established universities and other learning institutions.
In 1980 a group
of interested individuals met in Cambridge and decided to try out the principle of
self-help study groups and found that it worked. The founders realised
that third-agers themselves had the skills to organise and teach in their
own autonomous learning groups. The principle adopted was not "they teach us" but rather
"we learn with one another".
In 1982 came the creation of The Third Age Trust, a
registered charity and limited company which is the national representative body
for the U3A movement in the UK.
You will find a link to the Trust's website on the "web links" page.
In other parts of the world, development has been more dependent on
existing centres of learning and the resulting U3A courses have
been integrated into a local academic curriculum with formal exams etc.
The independence from the educational establishment which we have in UK
provides a non-competitive, stress-free environment in which to learn.
At first
AIUTA did not approve of the British 'self-help' model but now accepts it.
UK Regional Organisation
Regional activities are organised annually in which
local groups of U3As meet to share experiences and discuss matters of common interest.
In 2007/8, Warrington U3A organised the regional activities for the north west local group.
Local U3As
According to The Third Age Trust, at May 2008 there were
676 local U3As throughout the United Kingdom with a total membership of over 200,000.
Each local U3A develops its own character according to local needs.
Warrington U3A
Warrington U3A was started in 1994 with a ceremony at the Town Hall.
At May 2008 we have over 450 members and are increasing in size rapidly.
In the year 2000, Warrington U3A adopted its present constitution and became a Registered Charity (No. 1085069). The Constitution and its
associated Amendment are shown in the following two documents in pdf format:
The Constitution and
The Amendment.
A version of the
constitution was distributed to members with the Autumn 2007 Magazine and is available to
new members and to visitors at general meetings.
You can see
our study program
and
how to join Warrington U3A elsewhere on this website.
If your particular interest is not covered, why not start your own group.
It is not necessary to be able to "teach". You and your group can explore
and develop your subject together.
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