Co-sponsored by the Center for European Studies and IRIS NRC, This event is hosted by the UW-Madison School of Education’s Department of Educational Policy Studies and Office of Professional Learning and Community Education (PLACE). This partnership was made possible by the generosity of the School of Education’s Impact 2030 Initiative. 

This year’s conference engages the once-in-a-decade UNESCO report, The Futures of Education, pulled together by a broad international committee with diverse representation and focus groups conducted across many countries. The report answers three big questions which will be addressed in the conference:

• What educational progress has been achieved over the last 50 years?
• What injustices still need to be addressed? (Ch 1)
• What emerging disruptions will shape the world of 2050? What role can education play in achieving desired futures? (Ch 2)

Keynote speakers:

• Dr. Antonio Novoa, Portuguese ambassador to UNESCO and formerly the Rector of the University of Lisbon, Portugal.
• Dr. Noah Sobe, Professor of Comparative Education at Loyola University, UW grad, former president of Comparative and International Education Society, and Senior Project Officer in the Education Research and Foresight programme at UNESCO. Dr. Sobe directed the review process for the report.

Faculty panel on “Thinking Collectively about Futurity in Education” featuring:

• Nidia Bañuelos
• Justin A. Coles
• Hailey Love
• Matt Villenueve

There will also be opportunities to connect with current, future, alumni and emeriti members of the EPS community.

The conference will take place in person in the Education Building, WI Idea Room 159, 1000 Bascom Mall, Madison, WI 53706

*Some conference sessions will be broadcast virtually via Zoom.

This conference is free, but pre-registration is required. Register here.

More information and a complete schedule is available on the PLACE website.

The graduate planning committee is comprised of Batuhan Aydagul, Moisés G. Contreras, Virginia R. Downing, Khrysta A. Evans, Gabrielle Hernández, Kyoungjin Jang , Jacques Lesure and Emily O. Miller.