World Majlis | Equipping Youth to Thrive

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Rethinking Education for a Changing World

Throughout history, every society has grappled with how to best prepare young people for the future, and the pandemic has forced everyone to rethink the how, where and why of education. In March 2021 a UN installation entitled the Pandemic Classroom, representing the 168 million children who have missed out on formal schooling this past year, made visible today’s global learning crisis. Even before the virus struck, UNICEF was predicting that by 2030, 825 million children in low- and middle-income countries would reach adulthood without the skills they need to thrive in work and life. That is half of all young people on the planet. Our world is changing rapidly, and yet the ways we educate, inspire, and equip our children today remain largely a legacy of the first Industrial Revolution. COVID-19 has revealed vulnerabilities; yet it has also accelerated thinking in alternative ways to open up the full breadth of possibilities in learning in the age of the Fourth Industrial Revolution. What are the features of high-quality learning today? Which skills - both personal and professional - can we incorporate into any curriculum to ensure young people don't just learn, but thrive? How do we fix the vast inequalities in technology access to level the playing field for all children? What are young people themselves telling us they want and need to know? Please join us in this World Majlis to share your insights and collectively contribute to building a better future.

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