Last year I presented at the GEC on education for the 21st Century.  During this conference, I briefly mentioned the work that I do at the UPEACE Centre for Executive Education in Costa Rica and would like to invite you all to spend a week with us at the lovely UPEACE Campus during July 2013!

The course to be held is called 'Educating for the 21st Century', and it looks at how the world is changing at an extremely rapid pace, affecting the essence of how we learn, interact, and work. As educators, we are charged with creating learning experiences to equip our students for a future that is hard to visualize and impossible to predict. This week-long seminar is designed for educators working in formal and informal settings, within institutions and in grassroots community contexts. The Earth Charter will be presented and discussed as a unique educational framework for bringing values of global citizenship into educational processes.

It will cover the following topic areas:

1. Educating in a Changing World: Principles, concepts, frameworks and methodologies for educating in a fast-changing world.
2. Pedagogies for the 21st Century: The most suitable teaching and learning strategies in an era where information overload is the norm and ‘stickiness’ is an art.
3. Positive Education: The potential of Appreciative Inquiry and Positive Psychology in transforming the educational experience.
4. Design Thinking for Innovative Teaching and Learning: Applying the principles of design thinking to education to build creative confidence.
5. Education for Sustainable Development: Using the Earth Charter and applying it’s principles to different educational contexts.
6. Pura Vida Day: Possible activities include hiking, canopy tour, horseback riding, coffee tours…

In previous years we have had participants from Mexico, Guatemala, Venezuela, USA, Canada, India, Australia, Nigeria, Costa Rica, etc.  This rich multicultural group serves for great discussions and exchanges!

If you are interested in more information, please visit our website centre.upeace.org, or write an e-mail to the Centre's Coordinator, Karen Visoná at kvisona@upeace.org.

Looking forward to getting to know some of you in lovely Costa Rica!