Around the world, education systems are investing in innovative programs to support young people. Yet a critical dimension is often overlooked: the pervasive impact of adversity on how youth learn, relate, and show up in educational spaces. Without understanding adversity and the adaptive responses young people develop, even well-designed initiatives risk misreading behaviours, misdiagnosing needs, and missing opportunities for meaningful transformation.
This 90-minute conversational session invites education leaders and changemakers to explore what becomes possible when an adversity lens is integrated into existing frameworks. How might it shift how we interpret young people’s actions? How could it reshape program design, facilitation, and leadership and influence the outcomes we expect and the pathways we create?
Dream a Dream (India) and Apni Shala (India) will ground participants in what an adversity lens is, why it matters, and how it shows up in real educational contexts. Drawing on stories and practices from the Global South, they will share how this approach has transformed interventions, relationships, and outcomes with young people.
Designed as an open conversation rather than a formal panel, the session invites collective reflection on how adversity-aware practice can strengthen existing work and move us toward more humane, context-responsive education systems.
