Nurseries, schools, colleges and universities provide safe spaces where individuals can express ideas, explore new concepts, develop their character and learn. Education equips people with the knowledge, skills and competencies necessary to navigate life’s challenges, fostering both personal and socio-economic growth. At the societal level, education strengthens social cohesion by nurturing shared values, mutual understanding and collaboration. On a global scale, education helps to create interconnected societies that can collectively address common challenges, driving long-term global stability.

A stable educational environment encourages students to explore, take risks and build the confidence to embrace change. In the face of an increasingly complex and unpredictable world, education systems must be designed to provide stability and foster adaptability and resilience.

How can education systems provide the stability that encourages learning and develops confidence to change?

Education systems must be equipped to respond to disruptions, whether caused by natural disasters, political upheavals, or other crises. This requires a proactive approach that might include flexible curricula, decentralised decision-making and strong digital infrastructures. We have learned that by diversifying learning modes—such as blending in-person and online instruction—systems can also quickly pivot during emergencies.

What strategies, policies and factors can help education systems respond to and recover from disruptive events?

Even in the absence of disruption, business-as-usual education faces its own challenges, ranging from addressing inequities in resources and opportunities to ensuring that curricula remain relevant in a rapidly evolving world. To address these issues, policies might need to focus on equity, access and the upskilling of teachers, while also allowing for innovation in teaching methodologies.

What are examples of challenges associated with business-as-usual education in different contexts, and what strategies, policies and factors can help education systems respond to them?

The forum will explore these and related questions, considering the critical role that engagement with communities, civil society and industries plays in building education systems that are not only resilient and adaptable but also capable of thriving in the face of disruption.