Human Transformation in a time of Metacrisis

A 1-day Conference and 1-Day Unconference on Education, Flourishing and a Second Renaissance
At the Harvard Graduate School of Education

May 2 - 3

Cambridge, MA

Why transformation and Metacrisis?

Theme

We face a metacrisis: a set of profound, escalating and interconnected crises - social polarization, ecological breakdown, growing inequality, and a meaning crisis - whose source lie in core views and values at the roots of our civilization. It demands an integrated vision of transformation in education systems: K-12, higher education and adult development. Pioneers across academia, activism and organizing, politics, technology, and religion recognize that solutions require not just systemic change but also cultivating inner change through a Second Renaissance of wisdom-based societal transformation.

This event at the Harvard Graduate School of Education unites educational thought leaders and change-makers to spark cross-disciplinary dialogue and collaboration to support the paradigm shift towards a weller, wiser world.

What Will We Learn?

This event will delve into the essential inner human qualities and capacities that fuel profound transformation in education for flourishing. Our esteemed speakers will share their insights on how personal development and psychological growth can lead to positive system-change action in both education organizations and culture at large.

What is the metacrisis and the paradigm shift towards ‘inner’ system-change skills?
What inner capacities are essential to potentiate our activism and system-change efforts in education?
How do we develop qualities of “being” in education?
How does this look on the ground in education and our communities? We will explore a number of approaches, including the arts, academic research, contemplative and justice-centered approaches.
What are the practical implications of a flourishing approach to education at an individual, community and systemic level?

Speakers

Keynote Speakers

FEATURED THOUGHT LEADERS

Academic Thought Leader

Prof. Rebecca Henderson

John and Natty McArthur University Professor, Harvard Business School

Rebecca Henderson is a research fellow at the National Bureau of Economic Research and a fellow of both the British Academy and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. She also has more than twenty-five years of major public board experience. Rebecca’s research explores the degree to which the private sector can play a major role in building a more sustainable economy. She is an author of a number of publications, including Reimagining Capitalism in a World on Fire. Rebecca is currently researching how inner capacities lead to climate action in education, in business and politics.

Prof. Jon Kabat-Zinn

Founder of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR)

For decades, Jon Kabat-Zinn has been an exponent of bringing the ancient Buddhist meditation practice known as mindfulness (in its most universal articulations as both a formal meditative discipline and as a way of being) into the mainstream of medicine, health care, science, and beyond — not merely for individuals, but as an effective way to heal and transform the world.

Author, Professor & Mindfulness Pioneer

Researcher on Flourishing, Professor & Author

Prof. Tyler J. VanderWeele

John L. Loeb and Frances Lehman Loeb Professor of Epidemiology, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health

Tyler J. VanderWeele, Ph.D., is the Director of the Human Flourishing Program and Co-Director of the Initiative on Health, Religion and Spirituality at Harvard University. His methodological research is focused on theory and methods for distinguishing between association and causation in the biomedical and social sciences and, more recently, on psychosocial measurement theory. He has published over four hundred papers in peer-reviewed journals, including on the science of happiness and flourishing, and authored four books.

Dr Zachary Stein

Writer, Educator, Futurist

Dr. Zachary Stein was trained at the interface of philosophy, psychology, and education, and now works in fields related to the mitigation of global catastrophic risk. A widely sought-after and award-winning speaker, Zachary is a leading authority on the future of education and contemporary issues in human development. Dr. Stein is the author of many peer-reviewed papers and several books, including Education in a Time Between Worlds.

Education Thought Leader, Author & Researcher

Panelists & Workshop Leaders

Dr. Mette Miriam Boell

Educator, Author & Practitioner

MIT Systems Awareness Lab Co-founder and Executive Director

Dr. Linda Nathan

Educator, Author & Artist

Adjunct Lecturer, Harvard Graduate School of Education

Dr. Bernard Franklin

Author, Educator & Harvard University ALI Fellow

Managing Director, Uncornered

Prof. Isabela Granic

Researcher, teacher, facilitator & author

McMaster University

Bonnitta Roy

Author, Teacher & Insight Guide

Academic Director, The Divinity School

Dr. Gretchen Brion-Meisels

Whole-Person Educator & Researcher
Senior Lecturer, Harvard Graduate School of Education

Prof. Jon Kabat-Zinn

Author, Professor & Mindfulness Pioneer

Founder of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR)

Prof. Sherry Li

Co-founder of ICTUS Audio

Assistant Professor, Berklee College of Music

Sylvie Barbier

Ritual Artists for System Change
Co-Founder of Life Itself (France)

Daniel Thorson

Ex-Monastic, Podcaster, Coach
Principle at the Basin Collective

Agenda