The education department of the Church of England (NSE) hosted a conference in Scotland (16-18 March) with some 30 participants representing Associations of Christian schools from around the globe. GPEN was represented by its Council members Marijke Floris, Wim Kuiper, Jonathan Laabs, Birgit Sendler-Koschel and our host Andy Wolfe of the NSE. Together with delegates from South Africa, South-Sudan, South-East Asia, the US, Canada, Norway, Australia and New-Zealand we discussed how the concept of flourishing in education and the suit of papers, materials and tools connected to it, can serve the global community of Christian schooling. We have also looked at the future collaboration between GPEN and this new, emerging network.
Many of us also joined the NSE leaders conference in Birmingham, which was focused on how AI will affect Christian education. One of the take aways from this conference is that our distinctive Christian vision on education is extremely relevant to use of AI in our schools in a way that is enhancing and not endangering the flourishing of our pupils. Innovation needs to be balanced with ethical responsibility, human dignity and the common good. More information on this topic can be found here.