The Learning Future Podcast with Louka Parry

What does it mean to recognise that education is more than an institution, but a state of being? What are some of the shifts of perspective required for positive systemic transformation?People and their systems are in symbiosis, the relationship between personal and systemic transformations is an inseperable one. Romana Shaikh is the Chief Program Officer at Kizazi, a global non-profit that seeks to catalyze innovation in the design of school models to enable all children to thrive. She has deep experience working across India, West Africa and Armenia with local teams to transform public education to so education is contextually responsive, restorative of culture and identity & relevant to the needs of young people and their communities. Romana practices Presence Oriented Psychotherapy with individuals and groups and is currently involved in collaborative and peace building efforts in India. Through her work, Romana is studying the relationship between personal transformation and systemic transformation. She is a faculty member for Comprehensive Sexuality Education, Presence Oriented Psychotherapy. A Salzburg Global Seminar Fellow and an alumnus of Teach For India. Previously, she has been the Director of Training & Impact for Teach For India & a consultant to TFIx, TFAll and various other NGOs in rural & urban India.Romana loves tending to plants, practicing yoga and meditation and learning from various wisdom traditions. She enjoys learning about cultures and the diversity of life experiences people have through reading, traveling & being a part of communities.—-This Season is done in partnership with Salzburg Global Seminar. https://www.salzburgglobal.org/Please check out our partner’s publication advocating for education transformation: https://www.diplomaticourier.com/issue/transformed-the-case-for-education-transformation

How do projects of Agency across broad ranges and portfolios across Peru impact upon the lives in the community? Hear from a Peruvian expert in education about how a system has empowered hundreds of students into role models and doers of admirable public and community good.Franco is CEO and co-founder at Enseña Peru. https://ensenaperu.org/Franco finds, connects and develops leaders to transform education together. His passion is student leadership. He holds a master’s degree in education from Harvard and studies in strategy also from Harvard. He is a TEDx Speaker and Salzburg Global Seminar Fellow. He was a member of the Network Advisory Council of the global network Teach for all. He is also an author, publishing several chapters and articles in UNESCO, Diplomatic Courier, OECD, Teach for All, Harvard Latin Review, Global Education Initiative. In 2018 he was the recipient of the Leadership in Education award from Harvard, as well as the Faculty Tribute award from Harvard. His courses have become public policy in several regions in his country, scaling to thousands of teachers, especially promoting transformations such as student agency and personalized teaching in rural areas. He lives in Peru with his wife and daughter.—-This Season is done in partnership with Salzburg Global Seminar. https://www.salzburgglobal.org/Please check out the partner publication: https://www.diplomaticourier.com/issue/transformed-the-case-for-education-transformation

Is there a way to prepare ourselves for complexities that don’t fit standardised approaches or formula? How complicated can pedagogy become before it’s unworkable, and what does it take to increase this threshold? Transcripts available at https://www.thelearningfuture.comThis episode features The Learning Future’s Director of Leadership and Culture. Dr Anne Knock is an educator, facilitator, and coach who enables profound shifts in strategy, leadership, culture and pedagogy through her wisdom.Anne holds a PhD in Education from The Univeristy of Melbourne with a focus in complexity theory, revealing how to craft successful and sustainable practice and culture in innovative learning environments. She also routinely supports education leaders and architects to develop school masterplans and design briefs.Commencing as a primary teacher, Anne has experience in community development, school system administration, and school-based innovation consultancy. At The Learning Future, Anne leads programs and projects to help educators, leaders and organisations step into the future through strategic design and learning experiences that optimistically chart a path ahead in our increasingly complex world. Anne also leads the executive coaching and learning tour aspects of The Learning Future, supporting schools and organisations to integrate the cutting edge of school design, philosophy and practice.

Is there a chance that in trying to innovate we risk inflating systems in a way that 'misses the mark'? How can we approach innovative and big ideas in a way that is mission focussed?This conversation also features a careful speculations on the impact of OpenAI's ChatGPT and how learning innovators imagine and prepare for it's potential implications.https://www.gettingsmart.com/Transcript available at https://www.thelearingfuture.com.In this sixth episode of Education Transformed, Louka speaks with Tom Vander Ark, a strong professional advocate for innovation in education but also a deep thinker about the potential consequences or failures of new systems. Tom Vander Ark is an advocate for innovations in learning. As CEO of Getting Smart, he advises schools, districts, networks, foundations and learning organizations on the path forward. A prolific writer and speaker, Tom is author of Getting Smart, Smart Cities That Work for Everyone, Smart Parents, Better Together, The Power of Place and Difference Making at the Heart of Learning. and has published thousands of articles and papers. He writes regularly on GettingSmart.com, Forbes, and LinkedIn.Previously he served as the first Executive Director of Education for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Tom served as a public school superintendent in Washington State and has extensive private sector experience. He serves on the board of Education Board Partners, 4.0 Schools, Digital Learning Institute, Latinx Education Collaborative, Mastery Transcript Consortium and eduInnovation. He is also an advisor to numerous schools and startups.Check out this season’s partner publication: https://www.diplomaticourier.com/issue/transformed-the-case-for-education-transformation

Is it possible that reframed early learning can empower otherwise disadvantaged young people? Is there an opportunity to re-define schools as community hubs and social squares? Do teachers need to be an expert in mental health in order to improve wellbeing? In this fifth episode of Education Transformed, Louka speaks with Frank Oberklaid, a pioneer and inspiring spark for early education geared directly at the centres for child wellbeing, with demonstrable results.Professor Frank Oberklaid is the Foundation Director of the Centre for Community Child Health at The Royal Children's Hospital – Melbourne [ https://www.rch.org.au/ccch/ ], Co-Group Leader of Child Health Policy, Equity and Translation at the Murdoch Childrens Research Institute and an Honorary Professor of Paediatrics at the University of Melbourne.He is a highly regarded specialist paediatrician and brings a wealth of skills to his work and is an internationally recognised researcher, author, lecturer and consultant, and has written two books and over 200 scientific publications on various aspects of paediatrics. Transcript available: https://www.thelearningfuture.com/the-learning-future-podcast/educationtransformed-6

Is education a globally recognised construct, is it universal? What are the environments in which the best transformations occur and which regions have unique and interesting approaches? In this Fourth episode of Education Transformed, Louka speaks with Gavin Dykes, a wealth of knowledge about the unique approaches to education globally with https://www.theewf.org/ .Transcript available at: https://www.thelearningfuture.com/the-learning-future-podcast-aboutGavin Dykes is Programme Director of the Education World Forum (2004-present) held in London and for the Asian Summit on Education and Skills (2015-present) in Bangalore, Mumbai and Delhi. He contributes to advisory boards for ISTE, University of the People, and Karanga, he is on the board of Lyfta and is a judge for the Empathy Week Awards. Gavin has worked closely with governments, corporations, foundations, schools and universities in many countries. His writing includes co-authorship of “Building and sustaining national education technologies agencies: Lessons, models and case studies from around the world” (The World Bank 2017) and “Aspire High – Imagining Tomorrow’s School Today” (Corwin Press 2017). He has moderated and chaired international discussions including OECD Skills Summits in Norway and Portugal, Virtual TIESS in India, and Education Fast Forward debates across the world. For education to achieve its best possible outcomes, Gavin thinks we all, whether learner, teacher or leader, would do well to listen more, collaborate better and innovate constantly.Check out this season’s partner publication: https://www.diplomaticourier.com/issue/transformed-the-case-for-education-transformationTranscript available: https://bit.ly/3QX7SkW

What do the innovative architects of education sound like? How might they imagine channels that defy the “trickle-down” model of success by delivering high-tech and advantageous tools of education and employment directly to all?In this Third episode of Education Transformed, Louka speaks with John Goodwin and Chris Purifoy.LEF’s mission to bring quality skills and equal opportunity to every human on Earth, using open standards and web3 technologies.https://www.learningeconomy.io/John Goodwin, is Executive Chairman of the Board of Directors. Prior to joining LEF, Goodwin spent a decade working in the LEGO ecosystem, first as EVP and CFO of The LEGO Group then later as CEO of LEGO Foundation. Chris Purifoy, CEO of Learning Economy, about their ambitious global goal—to increase the impact of investment in humans, solve equity gaps, and empower learners and employees with better access to their data.He is a delegate for the UN’s Blockchain for Impact and the U.S. Department of Education’s Blockchain Action Network. Chris is a digital architect, serial entrepreneur, author, and futurist. He speaks in global forums about AI, blockchain, and the future of education and work. Chris loves simplifying really complex, difficult problems and building strong tribes.thelearningfuture.com

In this second episode of Education Transformed, Louka speaks with Dr Anantha Duraiappah, Director of the UNESCO Mahatma Gandhi Institute of Education for Peace and Sustainable Development. A depthful discussion about the whole brain approach to learning and education, including a confident approach to digital pedagogy, where neuroscience technology is applied to learning and teaching as a potentiality enhancer.UNESCO MGIEP in New Delhi, India is UNESCO’s first category 1 institute in the Asia-Pacific region. As an experienced environmental-development economist; Dr Anantha Duraiappah plays a key role in positioning MGIEP as a leading research institute on education for peace, sustainable development and global citizenship.Professor Duraiappah received his PhD in economics from the University of Texas in Austin, USA. He has authored numerous books and journal articles on environmental and developmental issues. Anantha also serves presently as as the policy forum editor for "The Journal of Human Development and Capacity". He is a Fellow of the World Academy of Arts and Sciences (WAAS), a Founding Fellow of the Human Development and Capability Association and a visiting Professor at the University of Tokyo, Japan.Anantha, in his previous post at the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP), initiated and played a pivotal role in the establishment of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES). He was the Co-Chair of the Biodiversity Synthesis Group of the Kofi Anna commissioned Millennium Ecosystem Assessment and founding director of the Inclusive Wealth Report released at the Rio+20 Summit in 2012.Dr. Duraiappah is presently focusing on researching and exploring how “Firing Gandhi Neurons” can be integrated into the educational curricular of the formal, informal and non-formal education systems around the globe.Transcription upon request - e-mail hello@thelearningfuture.com

Find out which countries are embarking on true education transformation and discover why transformation might be the best way to articulate the changes we need in schools and education systems. View the report: https://www.diplomaticourier.com/issue/transformed-the-case-for-education-transformationToday's episode is with educationalist, convenor, and non-profit leader Dominic Regester.Dominic is Director of Education and Director of the Center for Education Transformation at Salzburg Global Seminar, where he is responsible for designing, developing and implementing programs on the futures of education, with a particular focus on social and emotional learning, education leadership, regenerative education, and education transformation. Prior to this he worked for the British Council for 14 years on global citizenship education, teacher professional development, and education collaboration. He works on a broad range of projects across education policy, practice, transformation, and international development, including as a Director at the Amal Alliance, as a Senior Editor for Diplomatic Courier, and as an advisor to the Learning Economy Foundation, and the Power of Zero. Since 2021 he has also served as the Executive Director of Karanga: the Global Alliance for Social Emotional Learning and Life Skills. He holds Masters degrees in Chinese Studies from the School of Oriental and African studies in London, and in Education and International Development from the Institute of Education at University College London.In this chat Dominic mentioned the work of bigchange.org, who we are talking to in a future episode. Find out more at salzburgglobal.org and keep transforming. thelearningfuture.com

Louka Parry introduces a season 7: “Education Transformed” a series of conversations that aren’t afraid to leave behind past preconceptions to allow for real unhindered bold change and innovation in learning and education - both practical examples and plans for the future.Season 7 is partnered with the Salzburg Global Seminar.thelearningfuture.com