With Pavel Luksha & Francois Taddei, Learning Planet Institute May 7th 2026
This session focused on the role of universities in addressing planetary challenges by becoming intentional weavers in society to reduce or solve global problems. Pavel Luksha and Francois Taddei, authors of a manifesto for the planetary mission of universities hosted the conversation.
Breakout groups discussed
a) What universities need to do to be more intentional and
b) What support could help them move in this direction over the next 3-6 months
KEY LEARNING POINTS
- Universities must transition from competition to cooperation and integrating diverse perspectives.
- Universities are uniquely well placed to co-design ethical futures thanks to the combination of large student populations with access to experts across disciplines
BLOCKERS
- Egocentric pressure on academics to publish for citations and funding eg. research incentives for individual achievement with legal restrictions on sharing that reduce collaboration (reference?)
- Siloed thinking and behaviours create disconnects between communities within universities and the places they are located in.
- Corporate privatization and bureaucratic resistance (references)
- Colonial-era systems (universities in the Global South) that don’t meet current needs.
ENABLING CONDITIONS
- Need community-based learning focus to connect students and local communities – codesign with wider stakeholders
- Strong/consistent leadership in driving transformative change within universities
- Focus on core values rather than peripheral aspects (ref/example?)
- student organizing (speaker references?)
- community-based learning (references)
- teacher involvement. (references)
EXAMPLES
- Universidad del Medio Ambiente (UMA, Mexico) – a corporation with independence from government that offers only courses in ‘weaving’ (link)
- Jeannine (?) Santa Barbara Fielding Grad Community IKIGAI process (link?)
ACTION POINTS
- Create modules to redesign universities under an international umbrella with reference to UNESCO’s co-design of learning systems with young people. (ref)
Knowledge Bank Categories: 1) Future of Weaving 2) Regeneration & Universal Wellbeing
