culture

TRANSFORMATIVE SKILLS GUIDE

I have written recently that we need a transformative system -wide change process across our education and learning programmes and institutions to tackle the wicked global issues we face. This recently published Skills Guide puts some astonishingly accessible and credible ways to achieve this transformation. It deals with inner skills such as “thinking ,relating, collaboratingContinue reading “TRANSFORMATIVE SKILLS GUIDE”

The right have hijacked Englishness. Can it be reclaimed?

I spent Saturday morning listening to an exceptional former Green MP Caroline Lucas talk about England and being English and how distorted our electoral system has become. She is a formidable and eloquent analyst of how our system has become a bandwagon for the right and how we might change this dynamic by transforming manyContinue reading “The right have hijacked Englishness. Can it be reclaimed?”

Consilience

In Search of the Unity of Knowledge by E. O. Wilson I have recently returned to reading the biologist and polymath’s 1998 book in search of some answers to why there is an absence of political leadership capable of addressing our current ecological and environmental crises. I have adapted and summarised some of the earlyContinue reading “Consilience”

PROJECT BASED LEARNING

A recent book from the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) highlights how universities are not providing the majority of their students with the critical thinking skills required by employers. In their study analysing data from the US, UK, Italy, Mexico, Finland and China, 45 per cent of students were found to be proficient in criticalContinue reading “PROJECT BASED LEARNING”

REGENERATIVE CULTURES:LEARNING AND UNLEARNING

In an earlier blog I suggested that we are beginning to see evidence of avoiding using the word “sustainability.” “Sustainability is steadily falling into disrepute, mainly because of its reformist piecemeal applications, which exclude wholesale systems change.” In its place terms such as “regenerative paradigms” have come into play. In its broadest sense this encompassesContinue reading “REGENERATIVE CULTURES:LEARNING AND UNLEARNING”

HISTORY NOW

I encourage anyone reading this on New Year’s day to watch Simon Schama’s BBC TV series called “History Now” Schama is always a compelling presenter but in this series, he is more than a messenger, offering something of a call to arms as he emotionally recounted memories of watching Václav Havel address crowds of CzechContinue reading “HISTORY NOW”

What can Sustainable Development do for World Heritage Sites like Cromford Mills?

‘Why bother?’ – if you have never thought about sustainability in terms of heritage and education, or have only touched on it, there are several reasons to engage, or engage further: – Public interest: Society is in a state of rapid change not least about rising energy costs and more generally the cost ofContinue reading “What can Sustainable Development do for World Heritage Sites like Cromford Mills?“

CULTURAL HERITAGE in a CHANGING CLIMATE

March 21, 2022 | by Adam Markham Climate change is the fastest growing threat to heritage sites across the world, and as such it was chosen as one of the themes for the 2022 Watch. As a member of the independent panel that gathered (remotely) over three days to make the final recommendation of sites for inclusion, IContinue reading “CULTURAL HERITAGE in a CHANGING CLIMATE”

Neoliberalism: the idea that swallowed the world

The word has become a rhetorical weapon and an ideological political meme, but it properly names the reigning ideology of our era – one that venerates the logic of the market and strips away the things that make us human. And its most recent admirer Liz Truss our much-reviled former PM became a celebrated maleficent proponentContinue reading “Neoliberalism: the idea that swallowed the world“

Should We Abandon the Concept of Climate Refugee?

Climate change is expected to force millions of people to relocate this century, as rising seas inundate small islands and intolerable heat makes life impossible in tropical regions. But is the world really facing a mounting climate refugee crisis? It is entirely reasonable to assume that as climate change intensifies, it will result in moreContinue reading “Should We Abandon the Concept of Climate Refugee?“