About LearningPlanet Alliance and the Festival
Created in 2019 by the Learning Planet Institute and UNESCO, the LearningPlanet Alliance leads a global community of practice dedicated to the transformation of education and the co-construction of a learning society.
It brings together diverse, complementary and committed actors (NGOs, public actors, cities and territories, schools and universities, social entrepreneurs, companies, students, youth movements, activists, artists…) but with a common goal: to allow individuals to “take care of oneself, others and the planet”.
Together, these actors share their knowledge, their pedagogical practices and their field experiences (creating new ways of learning, teaching, doing research and mobilising collective intelligence), in order to better prepare individuals and organisations to understand and collectively take up the challenges of our time.
The Learning Planet Institute (LPI) is the new iteration of the Center for Research and Interdisciplinarity (CRI) started by researchers François Taddei and Ariel Lindner in 2006. The LPI is a driver of the learning-society revolution that believes learning, research, collective intelligence, and creativity can help both people and organizations adapt to the increasingly complex challenges of our rapidly changing world.
UNESCO is the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. It contributes to peace and security by promoting international cooperation in education, sciences, culture, communication and information. UNESCO promotes knowledge sharing and the free flow of ideas to accelerate mutual understanding and a more perfect knowledge of each other’s lives. UNESCO’s programmes contribute to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals defined in the 2030 Agenda, adopted by the UN General Assembly in 2015. The United Nations General Assembly proclaimed 24 January as International Day of Education, in celebration of the role of education for peace and development.
Objectives of the International Alliance
Federate & Share
By uniting the forces of pioneering actors, create a movement acting for the transformation of educational and lifelong learning models in the world. To share the stories of the future that support these transformations. To present the multitude of initiatives that have been implemented.
Learn from each other
Within the wider educational community, create all the conditions for sharing knowledge, projects and pedagogies. Depending on the context, facilitate the adaptation and replication of the most relevant educational approaches. Thus accelerate the transformation of educational models at scale.
Collaborate
Develop new solutions together. Co-create educational projects that no single organisation could do alone. Increase the community’s impact on all audiences. Better prepare current and future generations to understand and address major societal and environmental challenges.
Join Forces
Join, shape up and foster a global movement for change! Engage with a diversity of game changers across the entire educational community, to proactively and continuously participate in a pioneering community of practice
LEARN
- Explore new ways of learning, teaching, doing research and mobilising collective intelligence
- Draw inspiration and applied learnings from pioneering, gamechanging initiatives
- Experiment how to co-create transformative programmes with all stakeholders including youth
DO
- Develop existing and new collaborative projects with fellow Alliance Partners
- Contribute to scaling up and across promising initiatives, programmes and solutions
- Engage in radical collaboration to solve complex challenges that no organisation can tackle alone
SHARE
- Celebrate success stories of transforming education (especially through the LearningPlanet Festival!)
- Share and showcase expertise, resources, opportunities, spaces
- Promote new narratives to influence educational policies and the general public, under a shared banner
Activities of the International Alliance
The LearningPlanet Festival
The LearningPlanet Festival is organised every year around International Education Day in partnership with UNESCO and hundreds of pioneering organisations in the fields of education, culture, science, social and environmental impact, as well as with thousands of students and young activists from all over the world. Hundreds of events, both local and online, provide opportunities to share ideas and current projects, to launch initiatives, to mobilise the forces that are committed to adapting our learning models to the accelerated transitions of the 21st century.
The LearningPlanet Action Groups
The LearningPlanet Action Groups bring together throughout the year organisations committed to common causes: youth engagement, university transitions, etc. They are communities of practice dedicated to dialogue between stakeholders (institutions, educators, social entrepreneurs, citizens, young people, etc.), but also spaces for creating impact projects. Each action group is co-created with partners who are pioneers in their field.
Our journey so far
LearningPlanet is born
Official launch of the LearningPlanet initiative on the International Day of Education at the UNESCO headquarters in Paris.
Global Little Prince writing contest
The “Conversations with The Little Prince” writing contest is held in 6 languages, drawing 2,500 participants.
The Festival goes online
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Festival takes place virtually, with 250 sessions, 330 speakers, and 2,500 participants from 90 countries, while thousands of others follow along.
Creation of the Learning for Sustainability and Youth Action Groups
LearningPlanet Action Groups are launched as dedicated spaces to advance the dialogue among a diverse set of stakeholders and to create and/or support projects.
The LearningPlanet Assembly and the launch of the Transitions in Higher Education Action Group
The Assembly draws 500+ participants for 2 days of collaborative sessions, and a key outcome is the creation of the Transitions in Higher Education Action Group.
World Expo in Dubai
LearningPlanet takes part in the French Pavilion, with an immersive experience featuring the Little Prince and WeLearn, an artificial intelligence developed by the Learning Planet Institute.
Launch of the Youth Council
18 elected changemakers are elected to act as leaders and take on strategic decisions of the Youth Action Group.
Launch of the Youth Fellows community
These youth are a community of inspiring young individuals from around the world. Are you under 25 years old? Apply today!
The Festival goes hybrid
The 3rd edition clearly makes new narratives for education everybody’s business, and features 450+ events, co-created with 250+ partners, and spanning 150+ countries.
Launch of the Teachers for the Planet Programme
The programme puts educators at the centre of the educational response to our climate crisis, making explicit and concrete links between the education and climate change sectors for real impact at school- and system-level. We are working on tangible outputs that transform education towards climate action and leadership in the lead up to COP28. The search for solutions is open – please share!
The Festival shapes new narratives around learning in the 21st century
With over 600 events worldwide, the 4th edition of the LearningPlanet Festival gathered close to 60,000 online participants from 191 countries. Thousands of participants took part in a growing number of local events from Delhi to Phoenix through Paris, Dakar and Bogotá.
LP Vision episode: “How can technology be at the service of environmental education?”
LearningPlanet Vision scans the globe for innovative ways to use digital tools and technologies to create new education narratives. This June edition showcased projects already using tech to push environmental education boundaries, and involved a live discussion on how to stimulate greater interactions to support this critical subject.
Report Launch: Exploring Local Learning Ecosystems in the Global South
In contexts of adversity, thriving in the world takes on a whole new meaning and relevance. The Local Learning Ecosystems in the Global South report searched for learning ecosystems with a stated goal to help people thrive and flourish, thereby proposing a new objective and purpose for education. Out of over 100 found, this report’s 11 learning ecosystems (spanning Latin America, Africa, and South Asia) demonstrate the criticality of bringing in the lens of equity, inclusion and dignity as core values.
Co-designing a Planetizen University at the UN General Assembly
We hosted an intergenerational conversation at the UN General Assembly SDG Action Weekend in New York on what being a planetizen means, and how the Planetizen University should be co-designed by young people.
Management & Strategy
Olivier Bréchard
Director International Alliance
Mélodie Gallant
Deputy Director - Event and Communication coordinator
Damien Sueur
Head of digital & audiovisual projects
Kristen Davis
Strategic Advisor
Community Engagement & Communications team
Bertille des Borderies
Communication Officer
Réka Lodinsky
Communications Project Manager
Katherine Brown
Project Manager
Ed Stevenette
Project Manager
Sarah Horley
Programme Manager
Ilia Lysenko
Youth Community Facilitator
Marie Ollivier
Online Copywriter
LearningPlanet Festival France
Stephanie Ampart
Conception Coordination
Claire Gaide
Project Support, Learningplanet Festival Paris
