The Future Depending on the background, interest and focus of the person making the presentation, the future will either be characterised by the progress in biotechnology and genetic manipulations, AI, space colonies, ecological disaster, quantum computing, a global integrated culture, virtual reality, or simply doom and brimstone!  In the same way we tried to present

A few general reflections and four points for consideration Primum non nocere – or how to avoid brain damage in Scouting! When I say brain damage, what do you think of? Possibly someone who took a fall without a helmet, or someone subjected to some James Bond villain-like electrode-prodding torture machine. In any case, the

I was recently invited to a meeting called “Learning Planet Assembly” –  a sort of assembly of various – and I mean REALLY various – stakeholders in the business of advancing SDGs-based education. The announced goal of the meeting was  “The launching event for a revolutionary, open-source approach to SDG-focused curriculum design, powered by students

Aceasta este o traducere a unui articol din publicația Symmetry, editată de Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory și SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory. Articolul original, în limba engleză, poate fi accesat aici Cu toții suntem formați din particule elementare. Mai mult, noi producem particule în mod constant și suntem bombardați cu ele în fiecare secundă a vieții.

I have a friend whose mother-tongue is an invective-rich language. Therefore he is quite accustomed, and almost immune, to the standard name-calling; in his country this practice is, more often than not, considered a sign of familiarity or even affection. There is only one phrase which always hurt him at the deepest level: being called

Am avut ocazia să urmăresc o serie de apariții media ale cercetașilor în ultima vreme și am remarcat un, printre altele, apariția unui nou tipar de imagine în ceea ce ne privește: cercetășia reușește să smulgă copiii din fața telefoanelor, a ecranelor, în general. Deja mă bucură că am evoluat de la imaginea de gunoieri

Some years ago, I was manning a flip-chart paper with the title “Spiritual Development” written in bold characters on top at one of the strategy-defining European Symposia. Row after row of people came by, leaving their ideas about what this might be and what could we do in Scouting about the matter. There were the

It takes leadership skills The world does not change (for the better, that is) by itself. The law of entropy applied to human society means that, left by itself, social networks and society in general tend to break down over time, moving from cooperation and advancement towards conflict and chaos. It takes institutional and human

Scouting is education for life – this is what everyone involved in our Movement learns at their first contact. And though this is somehow useful when deciding about the content of our programmes, it remains a vague definition unless we manage to clarify two issues: what education? what life? (i.e. what skills/attitudes are relevant?) The

În 2014, cu ocazia Congresului Mondial de Educație Scout, am fost invitat să adresez subiectul agnosticismului în cercetăsie – cei interesați de prezentare o pot găsi aici (în limba engleză).  La sfârșitul sesiunii am primit două comentarii care mi-au dat de gândit: unul a venit de la participanții din Grecia care mi-au reproșat că am