November 1, 2010
The inaugural Education Fast Forward debate took place in November 2010. It was presented by Bálint Magyar, Former Minister of Education for Hungary (1996–1998; 2002–2006) and Lord Puttnam of Queensgate, CBE, award-winning filmmaker, President of UNICEF UK 2002–2009 and Chairman of Futurelab.
The debate focused on two topics:
- Topic 1: “The right to digital skills development should be adopted internationally as a Basic Human Right.”
- Topic 2: “In the digital age creativity in education will play a critical role, even more critical than STEM education in achieving national economic success.”
Follow the links below for literature relating to this debate.
- Debate Agenda (PDF)
- Debate summary (PDF)
- Debate report, by Merlin John (PDF)
- Bálint Magyar’s presentation and speaker notes (PowerPoint® presentation)
Below is a selection of quotes from the first debate.
I was privileged enough to grow up in a world where education was believed to be important enough to be free. I now live in a country where we are talking about privatizing the last part of it, higher education. Education is far too valuable. it has to be something that is the responsibility of states to provide. That we are getting rid of the notion that education is a common good and privatizing knowledge is hugely damaging, and this is where the trick is because technology has been at the heart of the privatization of education rather than actually making education the common good that is so hugely valuable.
Tim Unwin
Small groups of people can make a difference and from the industry side we see things moving too slowly as well. The adoption of assessment technologies and interactive whiteboards and all the other things that we happen to sell, is really scratching the surface of what’s going out there in the world and there has to be a way of making what it says on the tin – making education go fast forward, that’s why we chose the title.
Jim Wynn
“There are plugged and unplugged people; everybody should be plugged in.”
“Right to education is a right of people. But it’s a moving target, based on the assumption that what you learn in that time is enough for your life. But life has changed … Governments should define a set of knowledge for the acquiring of which you should have the right throughout your life … Digital literacy is only a basic thing to enable you to have any other knowledges or connections in a modern society.”
Bálint Magyar
“Developing teachers is the only real way to be sure of developing the creativity of their students.”
“Kids learn best in environments where teachers teach best.”
We need to transform schools from teaching places into learning places and you don’t do that one teacher at a time.
Tom Carroll