Education for Flourishing Conference - 2nd May 2025

In a time of metacrisis and a Second Renaissance

Join us—along with key thinkers including Zak Stein and Jon Kabat-Zinn—at Harvard University on May 2nd, 2025, for a transformative one-day conference focused on bridging education, systems change, and human flourishing. Together, we will explore how education can play a pivotal role in addressing the metacrisis and fostering a Second Renaissance—a time of transition rooted in wisdom, connection, and societal development.

Keep reading for full event details and tickets, what we will learn, who should attend, provisional schedule, confirmed speakers and panelists, unconference information and where to register your interest. All information matches the official website.

Event details

What: A call-to-action one-day conference exploring the metacrisis through the intersection of education, systems change, and inner development
When: Friday, May 2nd, 2025 (with the possibility of a 2nd day Unconference on May 3rd)
Where: Harvard University, Boston, United States
Who: Co-organized with the School Founders of the World, a Student-Run Club at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, co-led by Boaz Feldman (Harvard Research Scholar, Life Itself Research Fellow and Deliberately Developmental Spaces practitioner), Rudy Santoyo and Cecilia Zhou (Harvard Graduate School of Education Masters Candidates), and supported by Life Itself, the Second Renaissance and Harvard Alumni for Education.
Register interest here: https://www.sfwhgse.com/events/education-for-flourishing-conference/form
Conference Website: https://www.sfwhgse.com

Read more

We face a metacrisis: a set of profound, escalating and interconnected crises - social polarization, ecological breakdown, growing inequality, and a meaning crisis - whose source lie in core views and values at the roots of our civilization. It demands an integrated vision of transformation in education systems: K-12, higher education and adult development. Pioneers across academia, activism and organizing, politics, technology, and religion recognize that solutions require not just systemic change but also cultivating inner change through a Second Renaissance of wisdom-based societal transformation. This event unites educational thought leaders and change-makers to spark cross-disciplinary dialogue and collaboration to support the paradigm shift towards a better, wiser world.

In the past four decades, a number of wisdom traditions have been increasingly examined and evidenced with scientific rigor. These offer powerful insights, practices and springboards upon which we can engage in radically embodied actions for meaningful system change.

The Second Renaissance is a global movement towards rigorous enquiry and deliberate action for inner growth and cultural evolution in the service of social transformation - creating a radically wiser, weller world. The term Second Renaissance originated from the works of Francisco Varela, the well-known Chilean neuroscientist and co-founder of Mind and Life. It is an imperfect term to convey a new integration of Western scientific approaches with Eastern Wisdom traditions.

Human flourishing is a state of optimal well-being where one’s potential develops across all aspects of life, including physical, mental, social, spiritual and civic, characterized by a sense of purpose, meaning, positive relationships, and personal fulfillment. This conference explores the intersection of this multi-dimensional development in education, for the benefit of positive system change in the way we think and act in education.

Harvard University and Cambridge, Boston Skyline

What will we learn?

This event will delve into the essential inner human qualities and capacities that fuel profound transformation in education for flourishing. Our esteemed speakers will share their insights on how personal development and psychological growth can lead to positive system-change action in both education organizations and culture at large.

• What is the metacrisis and the paradigm shift towards ‘inner’ system-change skills?

• What inner capacities are essential to potentiate our activism and system-change efforts in education?

• How do we develop qualities of “being” in education?

• How does this look on the ground in education and our communities? We will explore a number of approaches, including the arts, academic research, contemplative and justice-centered approaches.

• What are the practical implications of a flourishing approach to education at an individual, community and systemic level?

Who Should Attend?

• Academics, researchers and students passionate about educational transformation, and its impact on creating systems change in education

• Educators and facilitators looking to integrate inner development and applied learning

• Change-makers and activists seeking deeper personal and systemic strategies for change in education

Confirmed Speakers

• Prof. Rebecca Henderson
  Academic Thought Leader, John and Natty McArthur University Professor, Harvard Business School
  Rebecca Henderson is a research fellow at the National Bureau of Economic Research and a fellow of both the British Academy and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. She also has more than twenty-five years of major public board experience. Rebecca’s research explores the degree to which the private sector can play a major role in building a more sustainable economy. She is an author of a number of publications, including Reimagining Capitalism in a World on Fire. Rebecca is currently researching how inner capacities lead to climate action in education, in business and politics.

• Prof. Jon Kabat-Zinn
  Author, Professor & Mindfulness Pioneer, Founder of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR)
  For decades, Jon Kabat-Zinn has been an exponent of bringing the ancient Buddhist meditation practice known as mindfulness (in its most universal articulations as both a formal meditative discipline and as a way of being) into the mainstream of medicine, health care, science, and beyond — not merely for individuals, but as an effective way to heal and transform the world.

• Prof. Tyler J. VanderWeele
  John L. Loeb and Frances Lehman Loeb Professor of Epidemiology, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health
  Tyler J. VanderWeele, Ph.D., is the Director of the Human Flourishing Program and Co-Director of the Initiative on Health, Religion and Spirituality at Harvard University. His methodological research is focused on theory and methods for distinguishing between association and causation in the biomedical and social sciences and, more recently, on psychosocial measurement theory. He has published over four hundred papers in peer-reviewed journals, including on the science of happiness and flourishing, and authored four books.

• Dr. Zachary Stein

  Writer, Educator, Futurist

  Working to bring a greater sense of sanity and justice to education. Dr. Zachary Stein was trained at the interface of philosophy, psychology, and education, and now works in fields related to the mitigation of global catastrophic risk. A widely sought-after and award-winning speaker, Zachary is a leading authority on the future of education and contemporary issues in human development. Dr. Stein is the author of several books and many peer-reviewed papers.

Panelists & Workshop Leaders

• Dr. Gretchen Brion-Maisels
  Whole-Person Educator & Researcher, Senior Lecturer, Harvard Graduate School of Education
  Gretchen’s work focuses on youth-adult partnerships that support both individual and collective development, particularly using participatory action research in schools.

• Dr. Bernard Franklin

  Managing Director, Uncornered

  Bernard is an educator and thought leader and has contributed significantly to higher education, men's leadership, and trauma-informed initiatives, serving on numerous influential boards.

• Mrs. Sherry Li
  Assistant Professor, Berklee School of Music
  An award-winning producer, songwriter, and entrepreneur, Sherry’s music has been featured by top global brands, she teaches music and also works with small groups of Berklee students with Socratic inquiry and other wisdom-based methods.

• Dr. Linda Nathan
  Educator, Author & Artist, Adjunct Lecturer, Harvard Graduate School of Education
  Linda’s work centers on designing democratic, racially just educational spaces that prioritize creativity and community development.

• Prof. Isabela Granic

  Researcher, Teacher, Facilitator, and Author

  Researcher, teacher, and designer working across sectors to help build immersive developmental spaces for flourishing combining off- and online experiential learning. After almost 20 years as a developmental psychology professor, she left full-time academia to accelerate and amplify the real-world impact of her scientific work. She's building a comprehensive world-readiness program co-designed with emerging adults so they can thrive in a world in flux.

• Mrs. Sylvie Barbier

  Ritual Artist for Systems Change, Co-Founder of Life Itself

  Marrying the artistic, political and spiritual, her work synthesizes Eastern and Western philosophies and aesthetics, using Koans as a bridge for the mind into the spiritual realm, for a radically wiser, weller world.

Provisional Agenda

9:30am–1:00pm
Welcome & Introduction
Keynote Speakers with Q&A
Presentations & Panel Discussions

1:00pm–2:00pm
Networking Lunch (Food is included)

2:00pm–6:00pm
Workshops (4 Tracks)
Plenary Feedback & Panel Discussions
Flourishing Concert

Ticket Prices

Includes breakfast, lunch, and refreshments.

• HGSE Students: Free

• Non-HGSE Harvard Students: $15

• Reduced Fee (Non-Harvard students, unemployed, above 65 years old): $29

• Standard Fee: $79

Register interest for when tickets are released below:

Meet the organising team

• Boaz Feldman
  Conference Co-Lead & Co-Founder, School Founders of the World

  Boaz, a researcher and clinical psychologist, ordained as a Buddhist monk in Thailand, completed over 7 years of silent meditation retreats, led numerous war-zone humanitarian missions, and presented at over 30 international conferences. At Harvard University, he is a Research Scholar (at HGSE), an Education Ambassador (at HCCRC), and the European Director for the Harvard Alumni for Education.
  

• Rudolfo Santoyo
  Conference Co-Lead & Co-Founder, School Founders of the World
  Rodolfo “Rudy” Santoyo is an educator, innovator, and learning design strategist focused on bilingual education and technology for human flourishing. With experience in teaching, AI-driven school systems, and democratic school design, he envisions a future where immersive tech and culturally responsive pedagogy empower students. Rudy is currently pursuing his master’s at Harvard, refining his vision for transformative education.

• Cecilia Zhou
  Conference Co-Lead & Co-Founder, School Founders of the World

  Cecilia Zhou is a results-driven education entrepreneur with experience in school expansion, revenue growth, and strategic scholarship acquisition. She is the partner of ICTUS Audio Inc. post-production studio and its subsidiary, ICTUS Music Academy. She has also led nonprofit initiatives, including building libraries, managing summer trips and organizing career mentorship for rural underprivileged students.

The event is further supported by Life Itself and the Second Renaissance initiative.

The Second Renaissance initiative is a collective of artists, academics and activists committed to rigorous inquiry, practical action, inner development, and conscious community. Read more here: https://secondrenaissance.net/

Partners

Harvard Alumni for Education and Life Itself

Other information

Unconference Opportunity

There will be an opportunity to register interest to attend an Unconference on Saturday, 3rd May 9:00am-4:00pm.

What is an unconference?

An unconference is a participant-driven event where the structure and agenda are shaped by attendees to foster open discussions, collaboration, and knowledge sharing.

Unconferences are popular in fields like tech, education, and innovation, where collective intelligence and organic discussions drive learning and idea generation.