SOT Conference, Edition XII
A WORLD OF TOMORROW : FROM DARKNESS TO LIGHT .
A GLOBAL VIRTUAL CONFERENCE CURATED TO ADDRESS NEW PARADIGMS FOR LEARNING AND CHALLENGES IN SEEKING A FUTURE THAT IS BALANCED, SAFER, EXPRESSIVE AND INCLUSIVE.
The fully virtual School of Tomorrow (SOT) Conference, ‘A World of Tomorrow: From Darkness to Light’, takes on the challenges of seeking answers to difficult questions for a world in search of a new direction. This 12th full edition of SOT Events seeks an alternate vision to imagine a better world in which we may all flourish as unique individuals held together by the tapestries of our cultures, traditions and conjoined history. Over 60 global leaders share intellectual, emotional and social competencies to understand complex national and global issues that have evolved over time to impact the current state of humanity and the world. The 3-day conference features thinkers from around the world speaking live to global audiences in virtual panel discussions, keynote talks, debates, interviews and workshops.
Conference Dimensions .
New Paradigms for Learning
The global educational space has become a battleground for vested interest groups. Governments, non-governmental agencies, and the private sector, including the world’s largest technology corporations are all vying for influence and the right to decide which skills and competencies should or should not be embedded in a curriculum model.
A Balanced Future
According to a recent comprehensive study, global warming has already bled Antarctica, which is larger than Europe, of about 2.7 trillion tons of ice. This enormous amount of ice has already raised global sea levels by as much as a centimeter (Meyer, 2018). Massive deforestation still occurs in the Amazon Basin, and across large swathes of Sub-Saharan Africa, Indonesia, Malaysia and West Papua.
A Safer Future
Scientific and technological advances in recent decades have greatly improved our capacity to predict and protect ourselves from many natural and man-made disasters. Yet, we remain extremely vulnerable both to natural elements and to the unpredictability of scientific advancements created through humanity’s hubris.
An Expressive Future
Our world would be unimaginable if not for the philosophers, artists and musicians who have upturned the debate on what constitutes society, culture, expressive arts and valued social behaviour. This realignment has shaped our moral compasses from that of considerations based purely on religion and ethnicity and the expected norms of a society to a movement within popular culture that has re-shaped our minds and our behaviour (ACLU, 2020).
An Inclusive Future
Differences based on race, colour, religion, creed, socio-economic class, national origin, ancestry, age, disability, gender and related issues have been politicised in the ideological narratives of many societies. A genuine commitment to a just and inclusive world should identify and call out examples of oppression, racism and bigotry.