Published: 02.06.2022.
VIAA
Livestreame forum Steeering education

Tomorrow, on June 3, the Ministry of Education and Science (MES) and the State Education Development Agency (VIAA) in cooperation with the academic partner Riga Business School as a structural unit of Riga Technical University (RTU) invites everyone interested to participate online on the forum website www.futures2050.lv in the high-level International Forum “Steering Education: From Imagination to Impact” to jointly develop a vision for future education.

The forum will be also broadcasted on Delfi.lv and LSM.lv portals, as well as on the VIAA and MES Facebook pages. The event will be held in English, with translation into Latvian. Transcription or real-time subtitles will be provided.

The International Forum “Steering Education: From Imagination to Impact” is unique as it will feature world-renowned futurists and researchers. In turn, opinion leaders and representatives of the Latvian education sector will take part in the reflections to build an understanding of what global technological and social changes need to be taken into account in shaping the vision for future education. The forum will be opened by the Minister of Education and Science Anita Muižniece.

“Education in Latvia needs inspiration and courage! In many aspects, our education is strong and competitive, but we have not yet learned how to highlight the positive and be proud of ourselves. As we indulge in a vision of the future, we must also remember what we have already done, putting aside false modesty. We can talk about good things and our achievements! We can dream and create our own good examples that others will follow, not just follow the example of others,” the Minister of Education and Science Anita Muižniece emphasises.

“This forum has the specific objective of embedding a culture of vision in education, providing a framework for seeing the impact of major global change on people and knowledge creation as part of that change. As a small country, we have quite limited human resources, and the dynamics of the global value chain make both our education and employment processes sensitive. People are important to our country in every sense, so it’s all the more challenging to think about people's professional prospects, social place and role in the perspective of 2050 today,” the representative of the forum organizers, Head of the State Education Development Agency Dita Traidās admits.  

The forum is organised by MES and VIAA, and the academic partner of the forum is Riga Business School as a structural unit of RTU. Accessibility is provided by SIA “Tilde”. More information about the International Forum “Steering Education: From Imagination to Impact” is available on the forum's website www.futures2050.lv.

10.15 – 10.25              Opening of the event with the Minister of Education and Science Anita Muižniece

10.25 – 11.00              “Rethinking Education and Work: The next 10 years”

Gerd Leonhard, futurist and humanist, world-class lecturer, author of five books and filmmaker, head of The Futures Agency (Switzerland)

11.00 – 11.30             “From muscles to head to heart”

Perttu Pölönen, futurist, founder of Perttu Productions, European award-winning inventor and recognised lecturer (Finland)

11.45 – 12.45             Panel discussions and questions

13.40 – 14.00              “Reimagining Our Futures Together: A New Social Contract for Education”

Prof. Fernando M. Reimers, Director of the Global Education Innovation Initiative at Harvard University, Member of the UNESCO Commission on the Future of Education (USA) - video

14.00 – 14.20             “Towards a new landscape of learning opportunities”

Dr. M. S. Vijay Kumar, Abdul Latif Jameel, Executive Director of World Education Lab (J-WEL), Associate Professor of Open Education at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (USA)

14.20 – 15.20              Panel discussions and questions

15.20 – 15.35             Closing remarks. Antoni Lacinai and Anita Muižniece

15.40 – 16.00              Signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between MES, RTU and Abdul Latif Jameel’s World Education Lab of Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MTI)