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 .

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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).

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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.

Our Speakers .

 Dr Mahathir Mohammad

Former Prime Minister, Malaysia
 Professor Maggie Atkinson

Educator and former Children's Commissioner for England
 Professor Dr Ger Graus OBE

Global Education Director, KidZania
 Lord Jim Knight

Chief Education Adviser at TES Global; Former Minister of State for Schools, UK
 Rosan Bosch

Founder & Creative Director, Rosan Bosch Studio
 Simon Anholt

Policy adviser; Founder, 'Good Country'
 Jessica White

Senior Consultant at EDUvation, EdTech/AI Speaker
 Dr Roger Carl  Schank

AI Researcher & Revisionist Educator; CEO, Socratic Arts
 Mian Imran Masood

President, Pakistan Education Council
 Dr Bo Stjerne Thomsen

Chair, Learning through Play, LEGO Foundation
 Dr Pervez Hoodbhoy

Professor, Physicist, Mathematician & Founder, Black Hole
 Suzie Boss

Writer, Educationist and a PBLExpert
 Cris Rowan

Paediatric occupational therapist, biologist & Author
 Lee Daley

Tech entrepreneur & communications strategist; Co-Founder, Chairman Hello Genius
 Sir Tim Hitchens

President Wolfson College, University of Oxford
 Jude Heaton

Director, Global Learning Lab, Teach For All
 Dr Monica A. Nicoll

Counsellor, psychotherapist, author
 Ayesha Kasuri

Deputy Director Curriculum Development
 Marvi Mazhar

Founder and Principal Architect, Marvi Mazhar & Associates
 Omair Rana

Actor, Theater Director
 Ahmad Rafay Alam

Environment Lawyer, Infrastructure Developer & Planner
 Shahnaz Wazir Ali

Educationist & Development Policy Specialist; President, SZABIST University
 Kamil Khan Mumtaz

Architect, founder member of Lahore Conservation Society
 Rod Boswell

Principal, Beaconhouse Newlands Islamabad
 Nassir Kasuri

Executive Director, International Division, Beaconhouse School System
 Narjis Haider

Deputy Head, Beaconhouse Jubilee Campus
 Zebunnisa Burki

Deputy Editor, Oped pages of The News
 Munizae Jahangir

Broadcast Journalist & Documentary Filmmaker
 Sibel Ahmed  Mufti

Biomedical Engineer & Robotics Expert
 Adnan Malik

Actor, Model, Documentary filmmaker, Producer
 Zahra Saleha Ahmad

English Language & Literature Teacher/Teacher Trainer
 Kasim Kasuri

Chair SOT, CEO Beaconhouse School System
 Dr Lawrence Burke

Chief Education Adviser, Beaconhouse
 Kenneth Loh Kah Chun

Student, Beaconhouse Sri Murni School, Malaysia
 Neelam Hussain

Educationist, Activist
 Amber Rahim Shamsi

Award-winning Journalist & Pakistan Editor, Nukta
 Sarah Muneeb

Head, Assessment & Qualification Operations, Beaconhouse
 Khurshid Mahmud  Kasuri

Former Foreign Minister of Pakistan
 Salima Hashmi

Artist, Curator, Contemporary Art Historian
 Jens Zimmermann

PE/VC Investor & Entrepreneur
 Mehmal Sarfraz

Journalist & Co-founder, The Current
 Afshan Khalid

Educationist and Head of School Evaluation, Beaconhouse
 Andleeb Abbas

Speaker, Consultant & Trainer
 Dr Mariam Chughtai

Director, National Curriculum Council, Federal Ministry of Education
 Kamran Lashari

Director General, Walled City Lahore Authority
 Safia Cassim

Cluster Director North, Beaconhouse
 Iain Riley

School Head, TNS Beaconhouse DHA
 Taimur Saleem Khan Jhagra

Minister for Finance, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
 Dr Ulrik Juul  Christensen

Expert in Learning Technologies; CEO, Area9 Group
 Lara Rathod

Speaker; Creator & Host, Red Sofa Conversations
 Mosharraf Zaidi

Leading Public Policy Analyst; Senior Fellow at Tabadlab
 Alister Bartholomew

Regional Director, Beaconhouse South East Asia
 Amber Noor Mustafa

Senior Manager Professional Development and School Improvement, Beaconhouse
 Dr William G. Nicoll

Trainer, education/mental health consultant & author
 Benjamin W. Decker

Social activist, meditation teacher & entrepreneur
 Salman Beg

Chief Executive Officer, Aga Khan Cultural Services Pakistan
 Ali Javaid

Lawyer & Co-Founder at Leghari & Darugar Firm
 Dr Faisal Mahmood

Consultant, Section Head for Infectious Diseases, Aga Khan University Hospital
 Dr Maryam Riaz Tarar

Professor of Pathology & Virology at Shalamar Medical & Dental College, Lahore
 Affan Naushahi

National Debater, Student at LUMS
 Taimur K. Bandey

Educationist and International Baccalaureate Expert
 Ivan Tan  Ming Hao

Student at Beaconhouse Sri Inai International School
 Kashmala Omer Siddiqui

Student at BCP - PECHS IB
 Adeeba Alam

Student at Beaconhouse Al Khaleej International School, UAE
 Attiq Ahmed

Principal Architect, AEDL; Founder, OCCO
 Dr Helen Maffini

Education consultant; Director of MindBE Education
 Michael Kugelman

Deputy Director, Asia Program & Senior Associate for South Asia, Wilson Center
 Raum Saleem

Manager Professional Development and School Improvement, Beaconhouse
 Eymaan Zubair

Student, Beaconhouse College Campus PECHS, Karachi
 Stuart Stotts

Author, musician & educator
 Danyal Maqbool

Former Best Open Speaker at LUMS IV, Student at LUMS
 Henry Platten

CEO GoBubble; e-safety pioneer
 Roland K. Jahnke

Founder and President, Global Sustainable Excellence Concepts, Germany
 Sharjeel Ahmad

National Debater, Student at LUMS
 Balach Khan

National Debater, Student at LUMS
 Scott Wilkinson

English Subject Leader, Newlands School, UAE
 Ali Chattha

Educationalist, Policy Analyst at Pakistan Olympic Association
 Rabie Haider

Student at Beaconhouse Oman
 Mustafa W. Ghumman

Student at Beaconhouse Defence Campus, Lahore
 Prof Sikander Shah

Associate Professor, School of Law, LUMS
 Dr Saleem H. Ali

Professor of Energy and the Environment, University of Delaware
 Ayesha Mirza

Educationist, Female Rights Activist, and Former Debater
 Hasan Ahmad

President of the TNS Debating Society
 Azam Ali Noon

Head of Academics, The Educators
 Ali Ahmad Khan

Chief Operating Officer, Beaconhouse

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