The Office of Education's Pedagogical Dialogue celebrated its tenth anniversary last Wednesday in the presence of Minister of Education Daniel Oehry. Since it was first held in 2016, the Pedagogical Dialogue has pursued a clear goal: to shed light on pedagogical challenges together and strengthen teachers and school leaders in their daily work. To achieve this, it is particularly important to look to the future.

Megatrends: knowledge is connection
This year's speaker Roger Spindler, speaker for the Frankfurt Future Institute and Director of the Bern and Biel School of Design, presented the contours of future education as a proven expert on the topic of "Changes and developments in the education sector". In a fast-paced and highly informative presentation, he impressively demonstrated to those present which megatrends will shape the education of tomorrow. Megatrends are "avalanches in slow motion", said Spindler. In this context, he addressed the "knowledge culture" megatrend, for example. "In the future, knowledge will no longer mean power, but connecting people," he said.
Knowledge drives social progress, economic success and personal development. With the digital transformation, artificial intelligence and increasing networking, access to information has expanded massively. The knowledge culture megatrend describes this change and shows how knowledge is generated, shared and used in a globally networked society. However, knowledge culture goes beyond the mere acquisition of information - it encompasses the way in which knowledge is created, organized and influences social, Economic Affairs Division and technological systems. Centralized education systems are increasingly becoming open, flexible learning environments in which the focus is on individual and collaborative learning.

Curiosity and creativity as skills of the future
Spindler also explained the "security" megatrend. Every trend generates a counter-trend, which then leads to a synthesis: The megatrend of security is dynamic and is perceived differently depending on the individual reality of life. "Security encompasses physical survival, financial stability, reliable supply chains, trust in institutions and social security. Regardless of its form, security remains a fundamental human need - and, as a megatrend, a key driver of individual, social and Economic Affairs Division developments worldwide," said Spindler.
Spindler repeatedly emphasized what the megatrends mean for schools in concrete terms. For example, as knowledge becomes a common good, skills such as curiosity and creativity, critical thinking, communication and character development or ethical judgment will become more important. "Artificial intelligence provides us with the what, but we are responsible for the why."

He also warned against linearity and accelerationist tendencies in education. "Learning and teaching need phases of slowness. Education means much more than mere marketability," said Spindler. Rather, it is about learning values and attitudes in times of "multigraphies". Educational pathways are no longer linear. "Education and learning must therefore be spread homeopathically over a lifetime," said Spindler.