This is an exciting and experimental new role in which Ben will work with and across the festival set to spot and develop project opportunities and bring his expertise and experience to explore what it is to be a festival in the 21st century.
The Edinburgh Festivals include some of the world’s largest arts festivals – twelve in all – and I’m hugely excited to be part of the mix. Long-term readers will know that it’s not technology as such that excites me, but the human impact of technology – and what could be more human than a set of international arts events that spans the breadth of what global culture has to offer?
The Edinburgh Festivals Innovation Lab is a new experiment and resource for the twelve Edinburgh festivals to explore how they can use digital technology to create new value for audiences, artists, the city and the festivals themselves.
Over the next two years, the twelve festivals will work together and with a wide range of partners to identify, develop and prototype high potential projects which use digital technology to improve the festival experience, for audiences, for artists, for the festivals themselves and for everyone.
We recorded a short interview on Wednesday that serves as an introduction to me and my background, but also why I’m so excited about working with the arts in this way.
A lovely (complimentary without being specific) email alerted me to an interesting looking teacher resource, http://oedb.org/ There are lots of ideas there for teachers or others to scan through and choose from, including the one of Google for educators – http://oedb.org/library/features/100_ways_google_make_y
Without sounding too obvious, the critical exploration of the values and norms that have shaped our world is essential to the continued progress of humankind.
In a new video offered by RSA Animate, Matthew Taylor explores the meaning of 21st century enlightenment that is well worth 11 minutes and 10 seconds of your time.
Specifically, what do the values that have shaped our world mean? Are they still working for us? Do they meet the challenges that we now face? Taylor argues that critical reflection on such matters is imperative if we are to continue to grow and thrive in a sustainable manner.
Empathic Capacity
What resonated most for me is Taylor’s observations on the importance of our empathic capacity. While the chain connecting inter-personal, communal and global empathy is complex, he suggests that “the stock of global empathy has to grow if we are to reach agreements which put the long-term needs of the whole planet and all of it’s people ahead of short-term national concerns.”
Clearly, if humanity is to thrive in a sustainable manner, we need to live differently in the 21st century. To live differently involves thinking and feeling differently. The powerful insights we are discovering about human nature, sustainability, civil society, inclusion, solidarity, often run counter to our intuition. This realization is what brought us to where we are today. But we are hardly finished.
Taylor suggests that “we are very, very bad at predicting what will make us happy and we are even bad at describing what made us happy in the past.” I have recently seen evidence of this in elementary school research on reflective thinking, wherein students are asked to write reflective essays and are unable to do so because (1) little time is afforded such a process; and (2) it isn’t being modeled very well (Beralt, 2010, under review).
Taylor theorizes that “21st century enlightenment should champion a more self-aware, socially embedded model of autonomy that recognizes our frailties and limitations. This does not mean repudiating the rights of individuals. Nor does it mean to under estimate our unique ability to shape our own destinies.” Instead, Taylor asserts “it is only by understanding that our conscious thought is only part of what drives our behavior that we become better able to exercise self-control… and distinguish between our needs and appetites, and our amazing human potential from the hubris of individualism that is the basis of self aware autonomy.”
Taylor goes on to cite Robert Kegan‘s notion that “successfully functioning in society with its diverse values, traditions, and lifestyles, requires us to have a relationship with our own reactions rather than be captive of them.”
What a concept.
Yes We Can
Yes, we can expand empathy’s reach. Civil rights, social media have further enhanced our ability to put our selves in other people’s shoes. Yet, has the process of widening human empathy stalled? Specifically, we should begin by exploring what enhances and diminishes our empathetic capacity.
If schools are to become intelligent communities, then we need to spend more time exploring how we come to know one another and how we can foster healthy public debate instead of unhealthy public disparagement.
The idea that “Education” (with a capital “E”) is the most valuable resource in our knowledge economy has become an airy cliche. Instead, Taylor argues that fostering empathic capacity is just as, if not more, important to “achieving a world of citizens at peace with each other and with themselves.”
This not to say a world of peaceful, empathic people will exist sans dilemma and contradiction. Instead, we as a human race should be willing to face these challenges and debate such substantive and ethical questions with knowledge and honor.
Remember:What we aim for can be as important to our well being as what we achieve.
The Role of Schools
How should schools focus on building empathic capacity of its students and citizenry? What role should teachers, administrators, citizens, parents, policy makers play in this discussion? What protocols should we adopt to foster and sustain such engagement?
This where I see the role of college’s of education leading. A college of education can do more than offer pedagogical blueprints. It can instead offer strategies, tactics, and forums for designing a sustainable future. Such a focus would require some retooling and rethinking but clearly the time to act is now.
Similarly, Taylor offers us a quote from Margaret Mead:
Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.
As such, I encourage you to collect the colleagues around you that are passionate and committed to equity, learning, and social responsibility and begin mapping your ideas for developing a deeper empathic capacity within our students.
A lot has been said about Facebook’s new location feature, which is available via its iPhone client or HTML5 mobile web app. It’s a shrewd move, to be sure, and by now it’s clear that the company has ambitions to be the next decade’s tech behemoth. While Microsoft has a grip over stand-alone computing, Apple over mobile devices, and Google over search, Facebook has managed to become the de facto gateway for social information.
Places allows your friends to tag you when they check in somewhere, and Facebook makes it very easy to say “yes” to allowing your friends to check in for you. But when it comes to opting out of that feature, you are only given a “not now” option (aka ask me again later). “No” isn’t one of the easy options.
This warning doesn’t come from a computer security forum, the EFF, or a group of interested hackers. It comes from the ACLU, the groundbreaking organization that aims to protect Americans’ civil rights. In other words, Facebook privacy is now being watched by the same group pushing for the closure of Guantanamo Bay. A powerful place to be – but perhaps an indication that Zuckerberg needs to re-assess his take on privacy?
In some ways, it doesn’t matter. Software projects like Status.net and Cliqset (Youtube link) are establishing a resilient, decentralized network where privacy is in users’ hands by default. These new applications are easy to use, accessible and ready for both private individuals and enterprises to pick up – and as such, represent the real future of social data on the web.
I am beginning to feel really lonely in here. When I click on the Spaces Central button or the Terms link I get an error page. What I really want to do is to export my blog posts. But both the HTML and RSS buttons lead nowhere. Have I completely missed the boat here? And why have inactive buttons? If you don't want to offer that specific service anymore why don't you just remove the buttons?
I did create an RSS content file at the time of the brouhaha about closing down about two years ago but I'd now like to collect also all the stuff I have posted since then. Perhaps an external app would do it?
By establishing a general standard for social application interactions, the services and technologies used to make connections become less relevant; the Internet is people, one big social network, and users no longer have to worry about how they connect. We can all get on with communicating and collaborating in contextually appropriate ways. In this talk, I’ll discuss how to build a decentralized, user-centered web using existing and emerging technologies. I hope you’ll join me.
I believe it is time for a “news” revolution. A new press should produce comprehensive streams of rigorously non-partisan original reporting on the issues that are most important to our lives. Once informed, we the people should have a space where we can discuss the important issues of our times without having to submit to intolerance, deceptive campaigning and fear-mongering. Through the use of technology and new business models, news innovators can provide more credible information and space for civil discussions. The goal is to empower citizens by providing access to superior reporting and the platform for community organization necessary for the People once again to become powerful participants in democracy.
As well as being an award-winning journalist and technology entrepreneur, Paul is an inspiring speaker who is worth listening to. You can vote for his talk over here.
On Wednesday, the Edinburgh Festivals Innovation Lab announced that I’m their inaugural Geek in Residence:
