Staff Reporter
Day three of the first, fully virtual Beaconhouse School of Tomorrow Conference: A World of Tomorrow: Negotiating a Better Future concluded the conference with all 22 sessions resonating with global audiences over the weekend.
A key highlight of day one of the conference was the recognition of the Pakistan government’s comprehensive response to COVID-19 by Director General of the World Health Organization, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. On day two, Mr Andreas Schleicher, Head of the OECD Directorate of Education & Skills joined for a discussion with Mr Kasim Kasuri, CEO of Beaconhouse on PISA assessment and the future of Education and Learning.
The third day of the conference continued with an insightful discussion on the hope that emerging learning could offer to the world’s 258 million out-of-school children.
This panel discussion featured Stephanie Dobrowolski, co-founder, Rising Academy Network, Africa, Mosharraf Zaidi, leading public policy analyst, Professor Tahir Andrabi, economist &educational leader, and Henry Warren, a specialist in disruptive digital businesses as the moderator.
A highlight of the day was the conversation on reimagining the future of learning, moderated by Nassir Kasuri, Executive Director, Beaconhouse, with the featured speakers Dr Roger Schank, AI Researcher & CEO, Socratic Arts, Suzie Boss, iconic US learning advocate & PBLWorks Faculty, Dr Siva Kumari, Director General, International Baccalaureate, and Professor Dr Ger Graus OBE, Global Director of Education, KidZania.
Sessions ran concurrently on topics such as supporting vulnerable & SEN learners during school closures with Professor Maggie Atkinson, former Children’s Commissioner for England, award-winning novelist, Mohsin Hamid, inclusion expert, LaCheyna Sparrow-Adebiyi, and founder ‘Cities for Children’ Madeeha Ansari amongst others, along with a seminar on the International Baccalaureate’s ATL philosophy with Lance King.
Transformative values and competencies were explored with Dr Tristian Stobie, Director Curriculum CAIE, Cynthia Guyer, Executive Director, Global Dignity, Dr Umar Saif, technology advisor, and Vikas Pota, education leader & creator of Global Teacher Prize.
Professor Stephan Lewandowsky, cognitive scientist, Munizae Jahangir, journalist, and Lara Rathod, creator/host, Red Sofa Conversations, discussed the ‘Info-demic’ in an attempt to sift fact from fiction, along with Oscar-winning film producer & member, House of Lords, UK, Lord David Puttnam CBE.
The School of Tomorrow conference seeks to understand how Covid-19 is shaping important global conversations about safer and more balanced futures, as well as pushing educators to reimagine the future of education at both school and university levels. The conference updates are made available on its website (www.sotevents.com) and the social media platforms Facebook and YouTube (Sot Events). The non-profit School of Tomorrow Event Series was launched in 2000 and is organised by Beaconhouse as part of its ongoing commitment to its social responsibility.
