Life and work are changing out of all recognition. The next generation are forecast to live to 100, spend a life in a portfolio of gig jobs, never be able to buy a house and work with technologies we don’t fully comprehend. Over a third of young people are already experiencing some kind of mental health challenge. Given all this it would be surprising if the next generation didn’t want something very different from the future. But what is that? What does Progress look like for them? What kind of education do they need? This is the backdrop to a National Conference titled; “All Our Futures”. The event designed for 6th formers, will be held on Monday 11th June. Hosted jointly by Independent Business Think Tank, Tomorrow’s Company and Bootham School, as part of York’s Festival of Ideas. Speakers from the world of technology, broadcasting, design and academia will be coming to York on Monday June 11th to work with 150 sixth formers from across the UK. Together they will be exploring what kind of education we really need, to ensure that business has access to talent for a technologically driven and uncertain future and asking how we better prepare young people to grow, explore and live rewarding, fulfilled lives in this new era? It’s the start of a bigger project being led by Tomorrow’s Company to capture the voices of progress from people from all walks of life, all sections of society, young and old. Event Sponsor, Chris Jeffery, Head Teacher at Bootham School said: “We need to question how education, and continuous learning are adapting to a revolution in technology and a changing world. We want to ensure that the views of business and young people are better understood in shaping the future of education”. Tomorrow’s Company CEO, Norman Pickavance said: “We are launching a national dialogue, starting with young people. We aim to tap into the collective capacity of young people to generate new ideas about progress. We will be exploring how work, lifestyle and values might change and what the contribution education, technology and business could make. We are taking the views of the next generation of stakeholders far more seriously. These are vitally important conversations." Event Details The event will feature key Speakers addressing 6th formers on a number of issues including Technology, Artificial Intelligence, the environment, the future of politics and how work, lifestyle and values might change.
Rohit Talwar, international speaker and CEO of Fast Future Research (leading research projects on drivers of change for the next decade & the long-term impacts of Artificial Intelligence)
Nick Gowing, journalist and presenter (former BBC International Journalist and Author of ‘Thinking The Unthinkable’ (2018))
Kresse Wesling, environmental campaigner and founder of Elvis and Kresse (making handbags from firehoses. Building a luxury global business that changes the world)
Jules Evans, Policy Director of Centre for the History of Emotions (philosopher for the next generation and Author of ‘The Art of Losing Control’ (2018))
Mike Shaw, Academic, teacher and self-acknowledged geek (what does technology means for the next generation) The students will combine ideas generated and write a new manifesto for education fit for the mid- 21st century, which will be shared with policy makers and opinion formers. Event Background: The event is sponsored by Tomorrow’s Company, an independent, business-led think tank, and Bootham, a Quaker School in York, and forms part of the York Festival of Ideas. Tomorrow’s Company is an independent not-for-profit think-tank that exists to inspire and enable business to be a force for good. Our goal is to encourage a business approach that creates value for staff, shareholders and society. Since its inception 25 years ago at a Charles Handy lecture on the Role of Business in a Changing World, Tomorrow’s Company has published forward-thinking research reports, articles and books. These have influenced key decision-makers in business and government globally. Quaker Business pioneer Joseph Rowntree was instrumental in the establishment of Bootham School in 1823. The school is built on a tradition of developing the whole person, pupils are encouraged to take an active interest in the questions of the day and the school fosters independent-minded thinking in all it does. York Festival of Ideas is an annual event which seeks to bring together leading thinkers, academics, artists and industrialists, writers and politicians to address the important ideas, challenges and opportunities shaping society today. The focus in 2018 is on ‘imagining the impossible’. Featuring talks on algorithms, the future of work, well-being, lessons on education from Australia and culture wars. Bio Details Chris Jeffrey is Headmaster of Bootham School in York. He is chairman of the UK Schools Welfare Working Group looking at student wellbeing. He has a first class degree in history from the University of York and he and his wife Carol have three children. Chris is leader of a happy and vibrant Quaker school. seeking to help talented and committed young people pursue lives of purpose, impact and success. Chris is an amateur musician/songwriter, family man and Bristol Rovers fan. The 6th Form Conference is the brain child of Chris Jeffrey who is passionate about the need for education to better equip young people for the changing global, business and technology landscape. Norman Pickavance has been an Executive Board member of leading Yorkshire and FTSE organisations, including Morrisons Supermarkets and Northern Foods, where he has delivered strategic and cultural transformation initiatives. He has been a Non-Executive Director within Leeds NHS, and in Whitehall. In 2006 Norman co-founded and went on to Chair an award-winning Social Enterprise in Leeds, helping homeless people to ‘get their lives back’. In 2014 he published his first book, The Reconnected Leader, focused on the growing disconnection occurring between big business and society and the need for radical change. In 2015 Norman led an Independent Commission into employment practices and Zero Hours contracts for Ed Miliband, and in 2016 chaired a Task Force into the Future of the Retail Industry on behalf of the Fabian Society. Norman became a Board member at the Independent Think Tank Tomorrow’s Company in 2017 and he is now leading the organisation as it launches a major enquiry into ‘Business’s role in driving ‘Progress’ in Britain’. Norman and his wife have two children and live near Wetherby.