Dare to Learn, the largest event in Europe dedicated to teachers, will take place this fall, in Bucharest. Dare to Learn, the largest event in Europe dedicated to teachers, will take place this fall, in Bucharest. On October 25 and 26 this year, approximately 4,000 participants will gather under the Romexpo dome. Among them are global education leaders Victoria Colbert, Zack Kass, Sugata Mitra and Cami Anderson, who will reveal the secrets of their learning methods to teachers as well as HR experts, trainers, managers and entrepreneurs.
Dare to Learn will put Romania on the world education map. Romanian and international teachers, educators, trainers, experts will be present, this autumn, in the Capital, taking part in the biggest event in Europe dedicated to learning. Among the special guests are more than 20 global leaders who will share their experience with Romanian teachers, as well as HR specialists and trainers, managers from companies and corporations, and entrepreneurs. Famous names in world education will hold masterclasses and debates based on learning models and methods successfully applied in educational institutions and organizations around the world.
How the event will be conducted
During the Dare to Learn event, they will have eight conferences supported by global leaders of change in the field of learning and 32 training workshops/masterclasses. There will be four panels focused on insights and perspectives on leveraging psychology research, technologies used in emerging economies, and pioneering approaches to create transformative learning experiences.
The purpose of this broad action is to connect Romanian teachers, researchers and education experts, but also entrepreneurs, managers and trainers in HR with global leaders in education. The event is aimed especially at teachers, as well as experts in pre-university and university education, trainers in the field of continuing education, researchers, those who work in the field of human resources in corporations or companies, as well as specialists in local institutions and, last but not least, actors governmental.
The event will launch a new movement dedicated to exploring and promoting innovative approaches in education, connecting the latest developments in pedagogy, research and technology with the need to make learning more relevant and accessible for all.
Kass, Sugatra Mitra, Cami Anderson and Victoria Colbert are just a few of the global education experts who will reveal the secrets of their learning methods to attendees.
Sugata Mitra – the minimally invasive education experiment
Professor Sugata Mitra is one of the most respected global educational researchers and a pioneer in self-directed learning. He is Emeritus Professor at NIIT University Rajasthan India and holds a PhD in Theoretical Physics. He retired in 2019, his last role being that of a professor of educational technology at Newcastle University, UK.
Sugata Mitra conducted the famous Hole in the Wall (HIW) experiment in which, in 1999, a computer was built into a wall in an Indian slum in Kalkaji, Delhi, and children were allowed to use it freely. The experiment aimed to highlight that children can learn to use computers easily, without the need for formal training. Sugata Mitra called this experiment minimally invasive education (MIE). The experiment has since been repeated in many places around the world. Mitra is the recipient of many awards and honorary doctorates from India, UK, USA and many other countries. Indian diplomat Vikas Swarup read about his experiment and was inspired to write his debut novel, which became the 2009 Oscar-winning film Slumdog Millionaire.
Sugata is credited with more than 25 inventions in cognitive science and educational technology. In 2003 he was awarded the prestigious Dewang Mehta Award by the Government of India for innovation in information technology. Among many other awards, he was awarded the TED Prize – worth $1 million in 2013.
Zack Kass introduces artificial intelligence to the field of education
Zack Kass stands out as one of the brightest minds in AI, with a robust 14-year journey at the epicenter of technological evolution. His tenure as Director of Go To Market at OpenAI has propelled him to the forefront of developing AI strategies for some of the world's largest companies. His role in transforming cutting-edge research into concrete applications for various businesses has positioned him as one of the most prominent thinkers in applied Artificial Intelligence.
His mission is to ensure that societies, companies, various organizations and governments are active participants in the future built around AI and are equipped to enable a prosperous and secure future. Zack Kass does this by demystifying AI, making it accessible and understandable for everyone, and helping leaders navigate the rapidly evolving environment.
Beyond the corporate world, Kass is a staunch proponent of AI's potential to revolutionize education. He works to promote artificial intelligence as a tool that can significantly improve access to knowledge. Its efforts seek to ensure that advances in artificial intelligence transcend commercial benefits and work for the betterment of communities and societies at large.
Vicky Colbert, the father of autonomous learning
Vicky Colbert graduated in sociology from the Javeriana University in Colombia and pursued postgraduate studies in the Sociology of Education at Stanford University in the United States. He is the founder and director of the Escuela Nueva Foundation and co-author of the world-renowned Escuela Nueva (New School) model, being its first national coordinator. Colbert conceived, piloted, expanded and supported this educational innovation from many organizational spheres: as Secretary of State in the Colombian Ministry of Education, UNICEF's educational advisor for Latin America, and now at Fundación Escuela Nueva, an NGO he founded for to ensure quality, sustainability and innovation in education.
A key element of the Escuela Nueva model is that students learn autonomously, at their own pace, using the Learning Guide, which Colbert describes as “a combination of a textbook, an aid and a teacher's guide”. These guides focus on the competence of learning to learn, suggest practical activities that students can do both at school and at home. Students work their way through the guide at their own pace, with teachers serving as advisors, students who have mastered a skill often helping those who haven't mastered it. The model is very empowering for children and young people, while learning becomes relevant to their needs and flexible in terms of schedule and resource availability. Initially, the model was used in the most isolated and disadvantaged areas of Colombia, where school dropout rates were very high, and the remarkable results made it later taken over by other states, being currently used in over 18,000 communities.
Over time, Vicky Colbert has received the Skoll Award for Social Entrepreneurship, the Clinton Award for Global Citizenship, and the Kravis Award, and has been recognized as an outstanding social entrepreneur by the Schwab Foundation, Ashoka, and the World Technology Network. At the same time, she is laureate of the first edition of the Yidan Prize for Education Development (2017) and laureate of the WISE Prize for Education 2013.
Cami Anderson, promoter of modernism in education
Cami Anderson is a passionate and established leader in education transformation who has spent more than 30 years challenging outdated systems and policies to drive change. Over the years, she has assumed various roles, from teacher to executive director to system administrator.
He has advised over 25 CEOs to achieve previously unthinkable goals. For 10 years he served as superintendent of schools, first in New York City and then in Newark, implementing key reforms that led to significant increases in achievement for all students in the district, regardless of socioeconomic status. It has succeeded in accelerating innovation and learning, initiating public-private partnerships at unprecedented levels, and establishing a new national model for urban education transformation in the United States. Cami Anderson has received widespread recognition for her work with students from the most disadvantaged socio-economic groups.
Anderson has also served as a Montessori educator, youth theater director, and executive director of Teach for America in New York, where she founded a board of business and education leaders, raised the quality of teacher training, and launched Teach for America Week. She also directed a school principal training program that was recognized by Harvard Business School and the US Department of Education as one of the most effective principal training programs in the country.
The Dare to Learn event will be held in English and participants will benefit from simultaneous translation via a mobile phone app. Starting from May 1, 2024, tickets are also available to the general public at www.d2l.ro. More information about access packages can be found here.
Organizers: Dare to Learn Foundation, Romanian Literacy Association (ARL Romania), Teach for Romania, Finnish Teacher Training Centre.
