John Dewey Social Action and Democracy. John Dewey (1916), in Social action, took as central to his concerns the notion of democracy, arguing: ‘Democracy must be reborn in each generation. Education is the midwife.’ His view of knowledge as a ‘public and common store’ (Dewey 1900) shaped his view of democracy, alongside notions of ‘intelligenceContinue reading “John Dewey Social Action and Democracy.”
Author Archives: Steve Martin
GOVERNANCE AND THE ANTHROPOCENE
A recent paper has traced the evolution of selected global environmental agreements from 1971 to 2025. And, it asks why the increasing intensity and focus of international environmental governance has not been matched by urgent and scalable improvement in planetary conditions. Using qualitative comparative document analysis across climate, biodiversity, and pollution, the study assesses theContinue reading “GOVERNANCE AND THE ANTHROPOCENE”
When will Labour take the initiative and be bold? Or are we facing yet another crisis of governance?
Our letter to John Whitby our MP Emma Hickling and Steve Martin We saw the Peoples Emergency briefing last week at Matlock Imperial Rooms, during the final night of the fifth heatwave that the UK has experienced this year. The next night we watched the National Emergency briefing videos on YouTube. These briefings highlight theContinue reading “When will Labour take the initiative and be bold? Or are we facing yet another crisis of governance?”
Sneinton Mini Civic Climate Assembly
A great pleasure to support the 25 th Mini Civic Climate Assembly in the Sneinton Community Centre last week. It attracted some lively and informed residents from the city of Nottingham who had many great ideas for making Sneinton Market a more environmentally and socially sustainable venue for the residents of its community and other residentsContinue reading “Sneinton Mini Civic Climate Assembly”
City of Nottingham Climate Assembly July 2026
We know that our city is moving in the right direction in its move to become carbon neutral and to respond to the climate challenges that are facing us in a way that will benefit everyone. Yet we also know that we need an ever-improving connection between policies enacted by decision makers and the actionsContinue reading “City of Nottingham Climate Assembly July 2026”
Exploring University Sustainability Performance through Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Framework
Presentation to the new University Strategy Team for Sustainability at Nottingham University 21 July 2026 Introduction I have spent almost 40 years promoting and advocating the urgency of this agenda at international conferences and here in the UK and working at the interface of academia , national policy and corporate business. I also pioneered aContinue reading “Exploring University Sustainability Performance through Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Framework”
FOOLS RUSH IN WHERE ANGELS FEAR TO TREAD: ON THE MORAL RESPONSIBILITY OF HIGHER EDUCATION IN WORKING TOWARDS MORE PEACEFUL, JUST AND SUSTAINABLE FUTURES
Posted on 01/07/2026 On July 1 a new open access book was be launched “Learning for a Just, Peaceful and Sustainable World” edited by Douglas Bourn and Alexis Stones. The book showcases current debates in the field of global education and learning and the importance of the Declaration on Global Education to 2050. It features chapters fromContinue reading “FOOLS RUSH IN WHERE ANGELS FEAR TO TREAD: ON THE MORAL RESPONSIBILITY OF HIGHER EDUCATION IN WORKING TOWARDS MORE PEACEFUL, JUST AND SUSTAINABLE FUTURES”
Learning to speak and swim through our emotions
By Anupriya Dasgupta For an organism to survive and grow, especially in an ecological crisis, it is imperative to understand its environment as well as it can. Our social environment is one such physical place. In its deeper parts, we communicate through something fluid, where our sophisticated intellectual apparatus turns to the superiority of theContinue reading “Learning to speak and swim through our emotions”
To Improve Wellbeing We Must Abandon Failed Economic Ideas
Do you recall this lot? You might be able to add Andy Burnham to that list very soon, and nothing about what I say here will change. They all made big claims for themselves. They were: And yet, in one vital respect, they have all been very much the same. Each arrived in Downing StreetContinue reading “To Improve Wellbeing We Must Abandon Failed Economic Ideas”
POLITICS WITHOUT POLITICIANS BOOK REVIEW
Yale political theorist Hélène Landemore has a soft spot for shy people — the wallflowers least likely to seek or desire power. She believes shy people should play a bigger role in governing. In fact, she argues they might be key to fixing democracy.In her new book, “Politics Without Politicians: The Case for Citizen Rule”Continue reading “POLITICS WITHOUT POLITICIANS BOOK REVIEW”
transformativefuturelearning.home.blog 