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.
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

Laura Christmann
Educator

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
