Learning Links International

Learning Links International (LLI) is a volunteer led social enterprise set up in 2010 with support from Jamaican poet, Yasus Afari. The LLI Directors come from Wales, Jamaica, Nigeria and England, and we are currently operating on Zoom. Join us on Zoom - every Friday or at one of our special monthly focus groups - to check these out Click HERE Initially based in Wolverhampton, Learning Links International founder, Liz Millman, worked with colleagues in Wolverhampton and the wider West Midlands, making links with Jamaica, as well as developing and managing the Black History Month Programme in North Wales. Click HERE In 2014 LLI gained the National Sector for Voluntary Organisations Award: Investing in Volunteers. By 2016 LLI was working mainly in Wales and we are grateful to Maggie Ogunowa for helping us set up an office in Penygroes. At present our focus is in finding new ways to research the shared histories and links between communities and countries, and telling these stories using a range of approaches working with poets, teachers, authors, academics and entertainers. With our developing Zoom skills we started 'Black History Lunchtime Coversations' every Friday lunchtime - teaming up with 'Belong Nottingham' and 'Highlands and Slavery' This is going well. Click HERE to go to the website and register for the next session or link with recordings of past sessions. Jamaican poet, Yasus Afari, keeps in close touch and we are working on the 'Building Bridges' poetry project, showcasing the poetry written by students and teachers he met at schools in North Wales and in Pennants, Jamaica. Yasus Afari's virtual 'Jamaica Poetry Festival 2020' was amazing - a fabulous achievement with 65,000 views so far - to check out on YouTube Click HERE It's well worth planning to take a couple of hours and just watching it! The 'Dyffryn Ogwen Writers and Friends' Zoom sessions on Creative Writing have started and are going well. Click HERE for more information. This is supported by Lottery 'Celebration' funding. The 'Pennants Project' team meet evrey few weeks and we are making good progress towards raising the funds to refurbush the school in ennants and build an Infant Department. We are also currently exploring the links that Wales has around the world, as well as looking at ways to celebrate Welsh Language and Culture, and due to Liz's current location, we are exploring the way that the story of colonial invasion of the Australian continent is told. It was recently 250 years since Cook landed, so there is lots of TV coverage of the story - told in many different ways. In the UK we work with a wide range of organisations and schools, including Arts Council Wales, , Race Council Cymru, Rotary International and Wales International/ Cymru a'r Byd. In Jamaica we work with the Institute of Jamaica, Edutainment Promotion and the Jamaican Language Unit, as well as the Rotary Club of May Pen and Clarendon Council.