UNESCO-MOST BRIDGES Coalition Special session, at the 7th International Conference on Future Education

Thought-provoking and valuable conversations at the UNESCO-MOST BRIDGES Coalition Special session, ‘Learning for Social Transformations, building on the Summit of the Future’ at the 7th International Conference on Future Education, 11 December, 2024.

This special session followed through on the ambitions articulated in the concept note for our Summit of the Future side event From Idea to Action and Impact: mobilizing the outcomes of the Summit of the Future and in the summary report produced from that side event.

Inviting conversation and input on specific targets and goals negotiated by UN Member States in the Summit of the Future (SoTF) outcome documents: the Pact for the Future, the Global Digital Compact and the Declaration on Future Generations; The session addressed what needs to be learned and what modalities need to be realized at different societal and governance scales in order to achieve the social transformations affirmed in SoTF as necessary for future generations to inherit a peaceful and flourishing world.  

This session held much hope on how we can build our capacities for future generations! An inspiring sharing of ideas and approaches! Gathering a remarkable group of individuals sharing their thoughts on how transdisciplinary, innovative learning can drive societal transformation and ensure a peaceful, equitable, flourishing future for all generations to come. 

The panel was moderated by UNESCO-MOST BRIDGES Coalition Executive Director, Steven Hartman who introduced the background to this session; the #SotF “From Idea to Action & Impact” side-event which took place at the UN Summit of the Future in September, on which this special session builds on, and discussed the BRIDGES report and recommendations for action and impact. 

Raad Sharar spoke of the The Club of Rome’s No Limits to Learning at 45 years, and No Limits to Hope. 

Karima كريمة Kadaoui, Director, Tamkeen Community Foundation for Human Development, discussed community learning based on trust and our shared humanity. 

François Taddei, Founder & President, Learning Planet Institute, questioned how do we co-construct the future with / for the next generation through the agency of learning? 

Joni Adamson, Founding Director BRIDGES Flagship Hub, shared the work taking place at the UNESCO-MOST BRIDGES Coalition Humanities Labs, ASU Julie Ann Wrigley Global Futures Laboratory, preparing the leaders of tomorrow. 

Luci Attala, Deputy Executive Director UNESCO-MOST BRIDGES Coalition, talked about the Munekan Masha transdisciplinary project, codesigned with the Kogi, as an initiative highlighting how mainstream science and humanities are working to learn from Indigenous knowledge in the restoration of ecological systems. 

Janani Ramanathan, Secretary General, World Academy of Art and Science, considered how the internet, communication technologies, and AI can make education accessible to everyone, everywhere, fulfilling SDG4. 

Iveta Silova discussed Arizona State University’s G-FORCES initiative, funded by the US National Science Foundation, and the new project being led in this context on “key educational insights for planetary futures.” 

You can watch the recording of this special BRIDGES session, ‘Learning for Social Transformations, building on the Summit of the Future’ on our YouTube channel here  

You can watch the Live Streamed recording of Day 2, Stream A, of the conference here.  

Read more about the session here, along with resource links: https://bridges.earth/events/e/learning-social-transformations-building-summit-future-7th-international-conference-future-education