I spent part of the afternoon enjoying the company of Gordon Selman, a dear and eloquent man, who had arrived from the University of British Columbia to act as the Conference Synthesizer. He had sat in on a number of sessions, chatted with people over meals and was impressed with the fellowship of the various groups and with the teaching and learning that was happening freely and generously between the delegates themselves. "I don't remember having been to a Conference (and I have been to many)," he said, "where, to my mind, there was more success in the appropriate sharing of information and ideas than at this one. It is just exceptional. "

I asked Gordon if he regarded the field of literacy as unique, if other fields of study are as generous and open to the sharing of personal knowledge and experiences. Gordon identified the fact that our resources in literacy are limited so we therefore rely fairly extensively on one another. "It may also have something to do with the present stage of development of practice and knowledge in the field," he added. "Literacy is still at an infancy or verbal stage. This is a stage in the development of the field where not too much of our practices and ideas are written down and we are sharing things at a very great rate."

As we talked more about this Conference in particular, Gordon made one other very important observation. "I suspect that the coming together of ideas and methodology also has something to do with the high degree of participation of people who are volunteers - people who are amateurs (and I don't mean that in a derogatory way), people who are so conscious of learning themselves or learning by sharing with others that they are ready to make sure that happens for other people too."

I spent the rest of the afternoon watching the delegates interacting with one another and thought how perceptive Gordon was. Over and over I saw examples of people 'swapping ideas', making notes on scraps of paper and 'lighting up' when someone mentioned a new way to deal with a problem. There was an obvious feeling of warmth and comradeship among the delegates as they greeted and talked to each other, which carried through into the evening's activities.

Many hours of planning had gone into the preparation of a "Medieval Feast". Carol Humphries and her steering committee from EACER (Edmonton Association for Continuing Education and Recreation) with the help of the Society for Creative Anachronism, outdid themselves with costumes, wandering minstrels, jousting demonstrations and Medieval dance lessons.

It was marvellous to watch roles change and pretenses disappear in the festive atmosphere of the evening. Administrators became students and students instructors as hands were joined in circles of dance. Frustrations were forgotten and new hopes rekindled as people laughed and relaxed together over dinner and on the dance floor. As it had been promoted, the Medieval Feast was indeed an evening of "Food, Fun and Frolic".

The next morning, tired but rejuvenated, the delegates were ready to explore more new ideas and challenges.

John Gogo, the Minister of Alberta Advanced Education, started the morning session with an introduction to the new Foundations for Adult Learning and Development Policy, "an Alberta policy which assures that adult learners who most need training will be able to gain access both to the learning environment and the learning opportunities they need to change and improve their lives. The policy recognizes that literacy is no longer just an educational issue but an economic one." The announcement of an Alberta Literacy Policy was welcome news for many; it had been a long time coming.