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NISSEM is very excited to have been selected by UNESCO to write one of 20 background papers that will inform a global report by the forthcoming Futures of Education Commission. Led by the President of Ethiopia, Her Excellency President Sahle-Work Zewde, the Commission seeks to “reimagine how knowledge and learning can shape the future of humanity and the planet”. All background papers will be published by UNESCO later in 2020 and will be acknowledged in the final Futures of Education: Learning to Become report to be published in November 2021. This follows earlier ground-breaking reports produced by high level UNESCO commissions, including Learning to Be: The World of Education Today and Tomorrow (developed in 1971–72), Learning: The Treasure Within (known as the 'Delors Report', developed in 1993–96), and the 2015 report, Rethinking Education: Towards a Global Common Good? The Futures of Education: Learning to Become report will build on this tradition and lay out an agenda for education policy dialogue and action at multiple levels. Watch the Futures of Education video here.
During the proceedings of the 2019 Global Conference on Teacher Education for Education for Sustainable Development attended by some 150 teacher educators from around the world, NISSEM co-convener Aaron Benavot gave a presentation entitled “Integrating cognitive, social/emotional and behavioral learning in the teaching of education for sustainability and global citizenship: Recent findings and insights.” He used this occasion to report key findings from the new UNESCO publication “Educational Content Up Close” to which NISSEM provided critical inputs, as well as an overview of the NISSEM Global Briefs. Watch a video of Dr. Benavot's presentation here.
On 8 January 2020, Margaret Sinclair, Matthew Jukes (RTI) and Andy Smart presented NISSEM Global Briefs within a Centre for Education and International Development seminar at University College London's Institute of Education. Discussants were Juliet Millican (Institute for Development Studies, University of Sussex), Rae Snape (headteacher, Milton Road Primary School, Cambridge) and Sébastien Hine (consultant, former contributor to GEM Report 2019). NISSEM's profile in the UK continues to grow.
NISSEM co-convenor Margaret Sinclair spoke at a recent Salzburg Global Seminar (8-12 December) on the importance of reflecting SEL and its application to SDG 4.7 themes in textbooks and education materials, both in terms of content and embedded pedagogy.
RTI International and NISSEM hosted a lively panel discussion examining recent donor policies on SEL and the NISSEM Global Briefs. Panelists included representatives from the donor community, authors of several of the briefs and experts from current programs, each of whom discussed their experiences and lessons learned from implementing SEL in early grade reading activities, crisis and conflict areas, and low-resource settings.
Jean Bernard, Colette Chabbott, S. Garnett Russell, Margaret Sinclair, Andy Smart and James Williams presented.
Creative Associates International hosted a launch of NISSEM Global Briefs at its Washington, D.C. headquarters. Speakers included Global Briefs contributors Susan Hirsch-Ayari of Creative Associates and Paul Frank of SIL LEAD alongside Jean Bernard, Colette Chabbott, Margaret Sinclair and Andy Smart from NISSEM. The full October 1 presentation can be viewed here.
On 4 September 2019, NISSEM co-convener Andy Smart gave the NISSEM Global Briefs its first public outing at this event attended by over 1,000 registered guests. On the stage with Andy Smart are (left to right) Jane Nyaga, assistant director, Curriculum and Research Services Department, Secondary Education Division, Social Sciences Section of Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development (KICD); Dr. Jayanthi Gunasekera, director general of the National Institute of Education (NIE), Sri Lanka; and Nader Hadifeh, advisor to the minister of Education and Higher Education (MEHE) in Lebanon.
The Global Forum in Hanoi saw the launch of a global research report on education for sustainable development and global citizenship in 10 countries commissioned by UNESCO and prepared by NISSEM in partnership with the Sustainability and Education Policy Network (SEPN) at the University of Saskatchewan. The findings of the study were formally presented by NISSEM co-convener Aaron Benavot at the opening plenary session and futher discussed at a plenary town hall co-led by Marcia McKenzie of SEPN. The report, entitled 'ESD and GCED Up Close' is currently being finalized and will be soon be available to the general public. Watch a video featuring Aaron and Marcia reflecting on the the study here.
