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Salzburg Global Fellows ask: What kind of societies are we aiming for and how could transformed education systems help us to get there?

In May 2022, Salzburg Global Seminar, in partnership with Big Change, ETS, The LEGO Foundation, Microsoft and Qatar Foundation International, brought together 51 Fellows for the four-day program Education Futures: Shaping A New Education Story.

Now, the first output of this collective effort, the Salzburg Statement for Education Transformation, has been published at the Education World Forum 2022 in London. It is a call to action for policymakers, learners, educators, and parents to intervene in education systems in order to bring about fundamental and lasting transformations.

Jointly drafted by the Fellows of the program, the statement underscores the global moment for education transformation, outlines the drivers for change, and ultimately calls on those stakeholders with power, agency and voice to use it to build the education systems that are needed for human and planetary flourishing this century.

Read the Statement in full below.

THE SALZBURG STATEMENT FOR EDUCATION TRANSFORMATION

A GLOBAL MOMENT FOR EDUCATION TRANSFORMATION 
Education leaders, policymakers, and funders in every context are making decisions about how to transform learning and education. This moment offers an unparalleled opportunity to step back, ask big questions, and think differently about what to aim for and how to get there.

A growing global consensus for education transformation is emerging to prepare young people for their futures and our sights need to be set on transformation, not reform. While reform starts with processes and improves the system, transformation begins with values and mindsets and changes the purpose of the system.  Reform results in a better version of existing systems; transformation results in different systems. To equip every young person to thrive throughout life, we must focus on transformation and less on reform and incremental improvement.

Salzburg Global Fellows from the May 2022 program Education Futures:  Shaping A New Education Story leaned into global research by Big Change (https://big-change.org/ new-education-story/) and UNESCO’s Futures of Education initiative (https:// en.unesco.org/futuresofeducation). The reports act as starting points to ask the right questions. Contextualizing and identifying actions is a collective effort. 

DRIVERS TO TRANSFORM EDUCATION SYSTEMS
Three drivers begin to indicate a theory of action, directing decision makers to the places to intervene in education systems at sufficient depth to bring about fundamental and lasting changes. These drivers of transformation emerged from research with global pioneers and changemakers. They are not linear and individual but very much interlinked and need to work together to support transformation towards more equitable, sustainable, and learner-centred futures.

PURPOSES
Redefine the goals and outcomes of the education system to reflect the challenges and opportunities of the future. Engage stakeholders in defining the purposes of education, so it reflects communities’ values and priorities.

POWER
Expand who has voice and agency by investing in educators and learners so they can make confident decisions about learning and education. Enable a wide range of stakeholders to take part in decision making. 

PRACTICE
Unlock innovation by enabling those working in education to create and share learning innovations with the greatest potential to transform the system and reimagine pedagogical approaches.

CASE FOR ACTION
The COVID-19 pandemic and multiple societal and ecological crises in recent years have revealed the crucial importance of education around the world. What is more, they have created opportunities for profound education changes. These crises have clarified paramount lessons about equity and access, and have highlighted the importance of technology in providing learning continuity. They have showed how vital it is to engage students, teachers, parents and caregivers, and communities in school, and provided further evidence that fostering self-knowledge, learning the skills to manage relationships, regulate emotions, appreciate differing perspectives and building resilience are just as important as literacy and numeracy. These crises have showed us how our education systems can evolve, and ultimately transform, to support all students to thrive.

EDUCATION FUTURES: SHAPING A NEW EDUCATION STORY
In May 2022, 51 Salzburg Global Fellows from 20 countries came together to ask bold and challenging questions about education:

• What kind of societies are we aiming for and how could transformed education systems help us to get there?
• What would an education system look like that supported all learners to build the capabilities, skills and knowledge they need to transform the world?
• What do we need to change within ourselves to facilitate this process?
• What are the conversations and questions that are required to initiate long-term transformation?

The first output of this collective effort is the following call to action for policymakers, learners, educators, and parents to intervene in education systems to bring about fundamental and lasting transformations. This is not a blueprint as every system will transform in different ways, but this is a call for everyone who has power, agency and voice to use it to build the education systems that are needed for human and planetary flourishing this century. 

• If you have power, agency and voice, use it to advocate for the kind of education that will help all young people thrive and become active citizens. 
• If you have power, agency and voice, acknowledge that this will be different to other people’s and use your opportunities to include those who might be left out of the process.
• If you work in government or education networks, recommit to the achievement of SDG 4.7 to ensure that all learners acquire the knowledge and skills needed to promote sustainable development, including, among others, through education for sustainable development and sustainable lifestyles, human rights, gender equality, promotion of a culture of peace and non-violence, global citizenship and appreciation of cultural diversity and of culture’s contribution to sustainable development.

Key questions to help with thinking about education transformation:

• What if each of us could learn from other education systems that are already transforming in ways we admire, ask questions of them and look for opportunities to work together? 
• What if each of us could contribute to and conduct national conversations with education stakeholders, particularly young people, about the Purpose, Power and Practice of education systems so that mindsets can begin to shift? 
• What if each of us could harness insights and evidence from previous and current reform and transformation efforts to inform better policymaking? 
• What if learners could organize with peers to take an active role in the learning process and life of your institution? 
• What if every system could harness innovative pedagogies and seek ways to embed them into practice so that learners could develop the full breadth of skills needed to thrive in today’s complex world? 
• What if every school could improve parental engagement to build stronger learning ecosystems for young people? 
• What if schools could provide every student with a holistic and interconnected view of the world, its challenges, and solutions by encouraging them to think globally and act locally? 
• What if educators were positioned alongside learners as central to education policy and systems transformation? 

The experiences of different crises in recent years and the Sustainable Development Goals target of 2030 have created a remarkable window of opportunity for education transformation in the next few years. 

There is a collective responsibility to seize this moment and transform education systems, so they enable all learners to develop the skills and competencies necessary for thriving in the century ahead.