It is now almost exactly a month since the second Hakuba Forum, which took place over four days in the Japanese Alps in the second half of June, and it has taken me this amount of time to process this astonishing experience and capture it in a format which can, I hope, begin to communicate some of the essence and energy of the event. When c60 forward-thinking educators from around the world come together, then it would be reasonable to expect that sparks of ingenuity and determination be born, and they definitely, definitely were.
My key takeaways, I realise, are ‘connection’ and ‘action’, bound together by a depth of reflection.
Connection … with people, with others, with place, with thoughts, with minds and hearts, with nature, and with our world … One of the core purposes of the Forum was to bring people together in order to reflect and create plans for action for the future of learning, education, schools, children and humans. Through reflection and focus, through sharing with others and making deep bonds, like a web of connective tissue that holds us all together, we did this. It was my privilege to work with an energising trio to conceptualise a community of practice, a framework and network to keep the energy flowing, and to ensure that the ideas that emerged will continue to flourish in action, and to give visibility to projects and hold us all to account for our continued commitment and engagement.
Action … in the then, in the now, in the future … The drive of the Forum was to challenge us to commit to concrete actions in our spheres of influence, to turn provocations or ‘what-if …’ into planned actions, and the ‘let’s now …’. It was uplifting to see practitioners and leaders leaving the Forum with a commitment to shift the mindset of their communities around why they exist and how they are going to to create sustainable, profoundly happy human schools, through practical projects. For me, I have committed anew to challenge and support the audacious learning of school and other educational leaders, and I am actively working on developing this project now
Forums like this don’t happen by accident; a phenomenal amount of preparation underpins them, and nurtures them. Others have already expressed a profound gratitude to the team behind the forum, and I echo this. I am deeply, deeply grateful to have been part of it. I came away engaged, focused, appropriately dislocated, energised, and ready to reflect and act still further. Plus I loved, with immense joyful abandon, being able to connect friends and colleagues with others and making new friends and colleagues – I LOVE my new friends!
Let’s now then turn commitment into reality and see what the new academic year brings as a result. Bring on change …