Friday 12 April 2019

GLOBAL EDUCATION CONFERENCE, 24 - 26 MAY , 2019 - "Values Based Education for a Better World."



GLOBAL EDUCATION
------CONFERENCE------
24 - 26 MAY , 2019
Values Based Education for a Better World








Today, the modern world is dynamic,  fast paced,  and seems to be racing only towards a  ‘knowledge society’.  No  doubt economic condition has improved in many countries and standards of living have enhanced,  albeit at varying levels.  Rapid progress of  science  and  technology  in  modern  times  has  brought  about  revolutionary  changes  in  the life of man.  It has made societies across the world materially rich,  but alas,  morally poor! As  Isaac  Asimov,  a great  modern  thinker,  puts it,  “The saddest  aspect  of life right  now is that science  gathers  knowledge  faster  than  society  gathers  wisdom.”  If  men  and  women  do  not  have  the wisdom to use knowledge in the proper way,  the knowledge will turn destructive! Men and women,  who lack wisdom but possess power,  knowledge and wealth,  lead society to disaster and chaos.

With the rise of industrial nations,  the modern education system is producing students  with information-based knowledge,  rather than transformational knowledge.  The  competition brought about by this system is mind numbing for the students,  thus crushing creativity and dehumanising the heart.  Today,  more than any time ever,  education is seen merely as a means for climbing the economic ladder. The system these days is focused on  the  development  of  the  mind,  and to  some  extent  the  body,  but  the  emotional  and  spiritual side is almost entirely neglected.  Students know how to  programme data for computers,  yet  lack  empathy  and  compassion  to  help  fellow  men!  Transferring  of  the  finer  and  more essential aspects of life by the teacher to the student,  like human values and spirituality are diminishing.  Nelson Mandela said,  “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use, to change the world.”  Learning to  be human is a critical aspect,  grossly missing from modern education. There is certainly a mood  of disenchantment prevalent today.

In  the  current  scenario,  this  system  of  education  has  been  blamed  for  all  evils  plaguing  the society.


In his  book, ‘Small is Beautiful’,  E.  F.  Schumacher  says,  “The problems of  education in the world today, are the reflections of  the deepest problems of  our age. The problems are not physical, but metaphysical; and hence the solutions should also be metaphysical. If  the current anti-metaphysical atmosphere continues in our academic spheres, education, far from being the greatest resource of  mankind, will become an agent of  destruction!”

Education  is  a  continuous  process,  from  womb  to  tomb,  and  education  with  culture  can alone bring about the positive transformation. True education is that which inculcates in the students the noble qualities of truth,  devotion to God,  discipline,  compassion and sense of duty. What is the use of possessing high intelligence if one lacks virtues? Intelligence should be coupled with virtues. The purpose of education should not revolve around the acquisition of a pre-determined set of skills,  but rather the realisation of one’s full potential and the ability to use those skills for the greater good  of society.
What  is ‘Education’? 

The  word ‘Education’  has  been  derived  from  different  Latin  words,  the  most  popular  being  - ‘Educare’  which  means ‘to  bring  out’  or ‘to  nourish’.  Education  gives  happiness  in  the  worldly sense, whereas ‘Educare’ helps man to  achieve the true goal of life - Self-Realisation. ‘Educare’ can also  be termed as Spiritual Education which can be acquired by self-enquiry, and it brings out the latent sacred qualities inherent inside the heart and puts them into  practice. Worldly education which is related to the head is subject to change but values like truth,  forbearance and compassion,  originating from the heart will not change.

Mahatma  Gandhi  stressed  that  morality  and  righteousness  should  be  an  essential  part  of education,  so  that knowledge and spirituality form an integral part of what they learn.  He said that,  on the one hand,  when students should gain education under the strict regimen of high morals,  self-control,  and right thinking;  on the other,  they should also  be expected to  provide  service  to  the  society  in  general. This  includes  respecting  one’s  parents,  teachers  and elders,  loving one’s children,  following social traditions and constant awareness of one’s  duties  and  responsibilities.  In  short,  education  should  cultivate  individual  character, professional excellence and social responsibility.  Education must provide  “life-building,  man-making  and  character  making”  abilities  to  develop  an  integrated  personality  –  one  who has  learnt  to  sharpen  his  intellect,  purify  his  heart,  balance  his  emotions  and  stand  firm  on moral virtues and selflessness.

Aristotle said,  “Educating the mind, without educating the heart, is no education at all.”

To  change the way we treat education,  we need to  shift its focus.  According to  a  UNESCO study, “the physical, intellectual,  emotional and ethical integration of the individual into a complete man/woman is the fundamental aim of education.” Any amount of ‘knowledge transfer’ will not be successful,  if it does not help with translating values into a daily reality.

The question of the hour is, “Should  we  teach  moral  and  ethical  values  to  our  children  in  our  schools and  colleges?”  Most  people  would  say,  “Yes!”  since  everyone  perceives  the  problems  that plague the contemporary society due to  bankruptcy of morality in individual and community lives. Therefore,  the need for teaching of moral and ethical values in schools and colleges is paramount.

The  Swiss  psychologist  Jean  Piaget,  Lawrence  Kohlberg,  so  many  other  psychologists  and educationists have put forward various methods for inculcating values among students. Value education  is  a  matter  of  ‘training  of  the  heart’  and  consists  in  developing  the  ‘right’  feelings and  emotions. Value  education  involves  developing  the  ability  to ‘think’  in  terms  of  values, the ability to  ‘say’ the right thing,  culminating in the ability to  ‘do’ the right thing.

In  2015,  in  their  endeavour  to  work  towards  transforming  our  world,  world  leaders adopted the  “2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development”  and the accompanying  Sustainable  Development  Goals  (SDGs).  Among  the  17  SDGs  and  169  targets, Target  4.7 specifically  acknowledges  the  importance  of  holistic  and  transformative  education,  highlighting the importance of education for sustainable development,  peace and global citizenship.

A large part of Sri Sathya Sai Baba’s transformational work has been in the area of education.  He  is  a  vociferous  proponent  of  the  adage,  that  education  offered  free  of any charges can be a transformative ideal,  that can have far reaching effects on the way  of  life,  attitudes  and  relationships.  In  the  last  50  years,  He  has  carefully  incubated and developed values-based,  integral education which is being viewed as one of the few frames of reference on offer,  for any meaningful reform in the current education system.  Some of the key facets of the educational system He has built are its rural  focus,  empowerment of women through education for girls,  and the deep connect with the timeless spiritual and moral values,  which are the essence of all the religions.  Today,  over  5000  students,  both  boys  and  girls,  benefit  from  this  format  of  education,  rooted  in  the traditional,  timeless values of yore.
About the Conference: 

The  Global  Education  Conference  2019  with  the  theme  ‘Values  Based  Education  –  For  a Better  World’,  inspired by Sri Sathya Sai Baba,  aims to gather educationists from around the world,  who  will  deliberate  on  how  and  why  a  values-based  system  of  education  is  the  needof-the hour.

The three-day Conference will be held at Muddenahalli,  a picturesque part of South India, about 30 minutes from the Bangalore International  Airport. The Conference will focus on:

What is Value Education? 

Strategies to inculcate value education into daily life 

Manifestation of the inherent latent qualities 

Values Based Education – to promote a spirit of service,  sacrifice and character 


For registrations please visit:  GEC2019.Com. 
For further information email us at:  gec2019@ssslsg.org 
Contact us at:  Subashini  +919945091409  |  Rajeshwari +919845075723    |  Saira +91 9663718977



Day 1 - Friday,  May 24, 2019 

Morning  - Inauguration of Global Education Conference

Afternoon  - 3 to 5pm - Two presentations by speakers from two countries

Evening  - 6:30pm - Drama - Human Values Drama by youth from Singapore


Day 2 - Saturday, May 25, 2019 

Morning  - 10am - Two presentations by speakers from two countries

Afternoon  - 3 to 5pm - Two presentations by speakers from two countries

Evening   -  6pm - Panel Discussion


Day 3 - Sunday, May 26, 2019 

Morning  -  10am  -  Encompassing  models  of  all  the  educationists  from  the  various countries,  a discussion session of a sustainable global values-based model of  education will be held.

In summary,  the morning session will conclude with take aways from this Conference

Evening  - 5:30 pm - Valedictory Session








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