The Learning Future Podcast with Louka Parry

How do we ensure that we can all be creators with emerging technologies? Ariam Mogos is a futurist fellow in the Stanford d.school K12 Lab. She designs prototypes with K-12 educators to engage, evaluate, and create with emerging technologies, crucially grounded in ethics and digital agency. She is currently working on a set of play-based analog resources focused on machine learning, blockchain, the IOT and other technologies. A constructivist educator passionate about computing, Ariam has worked at the intersection of education, technology, equity and play in the United States, Asia, Africa and Europe.She holds a B.S from Cornell University Industrial and Labor Relations and an MA from Columbia University in Human Rights and Global Development.

How does our diet impact our health and ability to live well? What must we know and do to decrease metabolic disease as parents, educators and citizens?In this episode, we speak with Dr James Muecke AM, an eye surgeon, humanitarian, social entrepreneur, and the Australian of the Year for 2020. James lived and worked as a doctor in Africa and subsequently as an eye surgeon in the Middle East, battling malaria, wild animals, and rebel soldiers, he then co-founded Vision Myanmar and also Sight For All, a social impact organisation aiming to create a world where everyone can see. 80% of world blindness avoidable and James treats blindness as a human rights issue.His focus now is type 2 diabetes – the leading cause of blindness in adults and a spiralling epidemic that's impacting nearly one-in-ten Australians. It's the fastest-growing cause of vision loss in Aboriginal people and the sixth-biggest killer in Australia like many other parts of the world. James wants to challenge our perception of sugar and the impact it has on the development of type 2 diabetes.

Does the collective good allow for greater individual growth? Are networks evolving to become the heart of peer-to-peer collaboration rather than a tool to elevate an individual’s contribution? On The Learning Future Podcast episode, we speak with Dominic Regester, a not-for-profit executive, convenor, educator, and interim-Program Lead for Salzburg Global Seminar. We discuss educating for the common good, the fundamental importance of collaboration, and how to make space for new initiatives that support educating for a different paradigm.Dominic is responsible for designing, developing and implementing programs on education, conservation, and the future of cities. Dominic worked for the British Council for 14 years, primarily on projects connected to global citizenship education, teacher professional development, education collaboration and internationalism in education. Dominic has an M.A. in Chinese studies from the School of Oriental and African Studies in London and an M.A. in education and international development from University College London's Institute of Education. Dominic is a founding member of the Executive Committee for Karanga - The Global Alliance for Social Emotional Learning and Life Skills, a contributing editor to Diplomatic Courier and a Director of Amal Alliance. He is the co-editor of two recent books, 'Education Disrupted, Education Reimagined: Thoughts and Responses from Education’s Frontline During the COVID-19 Pandemic' and 'Beyond and Social and Emotional Learning across the Mediterranean: Cross-Cultural Perspectives and Approaches (2020)'.

What masks do you wear in the world? How can we all step into vulnerability and self-love to create safer, kinder communities as men?In today's episode, Louka speaks with Ashanti Branch, an inspiring educator, advocate and social entrepreneur raised by a single mother on welfare in Oakland. After studying engineering at California Polytechnic, Ashanti found his passion for teaching while tutoring struggling students. In 2004, as a first-year teacher, Ashanti started The Ever Forward Club to provide a support group for African American and Latino males who were not achieving the level of their potential. The Ever Forward Club has since helped 100% of its members graduate high school. Ashanti is on a mission to change how students interact with their education and the way schools interact with students. After being featured in The Mask You Live In documentary, a Fellowship at the Stanford d.school, Campaigns for Black Male Achievement, and The Gratitude Network, Ashanti has launched the #MillionMaskMovement. The #MillionMaskMovement connects people worldwide in a self-reflective experience that helps people visualise and realise, "I am not alone."

They discuss moving towards a human paradigm in education, emphasizing well-being, collaboration, and social intelligence. The importance of investing in people for positive impact and the challenges of subjective understanding of systems. Exploring the role of optimism, collaboration, and societal factors in driving change. Embracing hopefulness as a strategy in the face of complexity and radical change.