From me to we
From Griffith REVIEW Edition 24: Participation Society
© Copyright Griffith University & the author.
Written by Mehrdad and Roya Baghai
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Imagine the Great Hall at the University of Sydney, packed row after row with teenagers, being asked to write on a postcard what they want most for their lives and the world they are inheriting from their parents. The pens and pencils in their hands capture the capacious vision of a world that embraces a desire for an inclusive family of mankind with equal access to justice and opportunity. Their words are significant, but what is more important is the personal intent in their statements: these students are not indulging in a superficial, feel-good exercise. Their statements are inspired yet pragmatic; optimistic yet grounded; confident yet realistic; courageous yet reasoned.
These young people are committed to becoming agents of change, to initiate it, to link the measure of success in their personal lives with the success they see in the lives of their fellow man. These postcards from the head and heart represent the voices of Australian high school students who have been systematically exploring the theme of global citizenship through the High Resolves Initiative (HRI).
We founded HRI four years ago because we believe that any hope of responding to the increasingly complex challenges of our world requires a critical mass of future leaders with the desire, skills, vision, creativity and confidence to accomplish what previous generations have failed to do: acting with solidarity in the collective interest of humanity. HRI's mission is to motivate high school students to view themselves as purposeful global citizens and to acquire and practise the skills they will need to lead their communities, and the world, to a brighter future.
Obviously, mere intentions and good deeds will not suffice: the problems are too intractable and the time too short. New capacities and unprecedented creativity, born from years of disciplined training, will be required. Today's students will need to be inoculated against the automatic and blind imitation of the past and be trained to tackle the myriad problems facing our civilisation.
Unfortunately, as Sir Ken Robinson, the internationally recognised leader in the development of creativity, innovation and human resources has noted, education systems have not been designed to cultivate most of these traits. In fact, the rigid approaches of many schools do exactly the opposite. Fresh new approaches are needed to break from failed formulae.
WHEN WE SPEAK WITH PEOPLE WHO HAVE SUCCESSFULLY INCORPORATED a path of service into their lives, they frequently refer to some peak experience during their youth that transformed the way they thought about the world. We designed the Initiative to offer an experience of awareness and self-discovery that can materially change the life trajectory for thousands of students.
The HRI curriculum is delivered through a creative mix of interactive simulations, role-playing exercises and small group discussions in a growing number of Australian schools. Participatory learning is central to the design of all modules. Facilitators and undergraduate recruits guide the students through five modules – collective identity, justice, conflict resolution, collective action and leadership – that give them the skills to design and launch initiatives to improve their schools and to serve their communities. Feedback from the schools has been extremely encouraging.
‘Students are more acutely aware of their rights and responsibility as global citizens and more aware that their individual choices and individual actions do indeed make a difference,' wrote Robert Phillips, principal of Hornsby Girls' High School; and Mary Ann Das Neves, prinicipal of Girraween High School, noted, ‘There is no doubt that this program has a life changing effect on students ... it takes them from being helpless observers of the world's problems to being leaders who have a conviction that they can bring about change.'
The contribution of HRI can be measured by the change in the life path trajectory of its participants and the many projects spawned as a result. But we believe these measures will pale in comparison to its contribution to creating a community where a critical mass of its leaders is trained to think and act in the collective interest.
Although the HRI experiment is only four years old, it has already generated valuable insights about the transformation of this generation. We recognised that it was essential to build the mindsets and capacities to drive constructive social change in the real world, provide provocative experiences which trigger a response, develop a staged learning process and provide opportunities for real-world involvement.
Schools prepare students to enter universities or the workforce, not to engage in social change. Yet there are specific mindsets and capacities that are needed if one is to be effective at engendering such change.
Starting with mindsets, we identified five frames that are critical to understanding and dealing with the challenges of the twenty-first century. First and foremost, it is critical for young people to view themselves as global citizens belonging to one united human race. They also need to view the world's issues through the lens of justice, because it is difficult to foster unity without justice and to have the integrative mindsets necessary to analyse and resolve conflict. They need to learn the dynamics of how to enlist others in collective efforts and to see leadership as service, which is the domain and responsibility of all.
Having isolated these mindsets, the challenge quickly became a pragmatic one of breaking each down into the capacities that need to be developed. We were inspired by the long list of capacities critical to development that were identified by the Institute for Studies in Global Prosperity – collective identity, justice, conflict resolution, collective action and leadership.