Aakash Sethi has been empowering unemployable youth to navigate the future of work & learning in India by mastering 21st century skills through self-learning.
NEW DELHI (India CSR): In a meticulous conversation with Rusen Kumar of India CSR, Aakash Sethi, the CEO of Quest Alliance, shared his profound insights into the multifaceted domain of future literacy. Quest Alliance, under Sethi’s leadership, has embarked on an endeavor to equip the youth, particularly from marginalized communities, with the skills and knowledge to envision and navigate their futures with confidence and agency. This interview takes a deep dive into the aspects, definitions, and differential factors of future literacy, alongside a preview into a pivotal upcoming event—The Quest to Learn Summit.
Excerpts:
Understanding Future Literacy
What are aspects of future literacy we can talk about?
Future literacy is a multifaceted skill set with profound implications. First and foremost, it empowers individuals, particularly young people, by unleashing the transformative power of imagination. It offers them the invaluable ability to envision not just one, but a spectrum of alternate and preferred futures, all of which are grounded in principles of equity and prosperity for everyone. Secondly, future literacy nurtures the capacity for change, whether at an individual or organizational level.
It encourages the exploration of new paradigms and actively participating in the creation of transformative futures. Finally, this skill enables a profound understanding of the intricate interplay between the future and the present. It equips us to leverage our imaginative faculties to rethink, reinvent, and challenge the prevailing status quo.
Moreover, it prepares individuals to confront and navigate the uncertainty of our times with confidence and agency, particularly in the face of formidable challenges like climate change and the pervasive influence of artificial intelligence. In sum, future literacy is a dynamic and indispensable skill that empowers us to shape a more equitable, resilient, and innovative world.
Defining Future Literacy as a Skill
How do we define future literacy as a skill?
Future Literacy is the skill that empowers people to better understand the role of the future in what they see and do. It enhances the imagination and the ability to prepare, recover, and invent as changes occur. Future Literacy is not merely about predicting the future with precision; instead, it is about gaining the confidence to actively create the desired future.
It is the capacity to explore the potential of the present to give rise to the future by developing and interpreting stories about possible, probable, and desirable futures. In essence, it is about creating the conditions for a paradigm shift, liberating individuals from passive acceptance of fate, and enabling them to take charge of their own learning and career pathways.
Differentiating from 21st Century Skills or Life Skills
How is it different from 21st-century skills or life skills?
While 21st-century skills and life skills are essential, there is a need to integrate future literacy into the definition of 21st century skills to enhance its relevance and scope While 21st-century skills encompass a range of competencies like critical thinking, creativity, communication, and collaboration, vital for success in the modern world, future literacy complements these skills by addressing the capacity to envision, create, and navigate multiple and preferred futures.
It is about preparing individuals, especially young people, to consider and build futures in meaningful ways, ensuring their readiness for the unpredictable challenges and opportunities of the future.
Research Findings and Their Implications
What are insights from the research report that you will launch at the Quest to Learn Summit?
Our research findings done across three states – Gujarat, Odisha and Assam provide valuable insights into the world of Future Literacy. We discovered that for marginalized youth, thinking about the future often induces anxiety due to the inherent uncertainty. Many young people tend to leave their futures to fate, passively accepting whatever comes their way. Often, students imagine future as a continuation of the present, limiting their possibilities. However, for students in extremely oppressive situations, even imagining a future seems impossible.
Future Literacy breaks these barriers by enabling students to think about preferred and alternate futures. It equips them to be more comfortable with uncertainty, and navigate present and future potential crises with more agency and control while challenging the status quo. This research has helped us understand the critical role Future Literacy plays in empowering young people to create the futures they desire.
Quest to Learn Summit: A Glimpse into the Future
Tell us about your Quest to Learn summit. What is the aim of holding a conference like this?
The ‘Quest to Learn’ Summit is a pivotal event aimed at addressing the pressing challenges and opportunities that young people face in an increasingly complex and uncertain world. Our primary focus at the summit is to bring different stakeholders together to dialogue on future trends and identify common priorities to enable young people to create transformative futures for themselves and others.
Our aim is to also bring out the contradictions that exist when we talk about the future for young people and have an open dialogue about it which can push us to think more creatively, have more grounded conversations and acknowledge these multiple realities to articulate a direction for the future.
We delve into the intersection of climate change and AI advancements, which presents both challenges and opportunities. The summit serves as a platform to explore how educational institutions, civil society, and funding mechanisms can transform to build the capacities necessary for young people to actively shape their futures.
Meanwhile, through the ‘Quest to Learn’ Summit, the summit intends to bring future literacy and future thinking as an important aspect that needs to become part of all our conversations so we can shift young people’s perception of the future as full of anxiety to one of hope.
We want to bring together thought leaders, experts, and stakeholders from diverse backgrounds to engage in meaningful discussions, share insights, and foster collaborations that can drive positive change. Our vision through this summit is to create a call to action by embracing uncertainty and bringing the desired future to the present, ensuring a brighter and more equitable future for all.
The Summit will be held on October 9 and 10 at Bangalore International Centre and those interested can register on the following link : https://in.explara.com/e/quest-2-learn-annual-summit-2023
What is Quest Alliance?
Quest Alliance is an organization that provides young individuals with 21st century skills through self-learning mechanisms. They develop scalable strategies to assist educators in bridging essential gaps in quality education and skill development. Additionally, they promote learning networks and foster collaboration, underpinned by research and innovation, aiming for broad systemic enhancements.
Who is Aakash Sethi?
Education Technology expert and social entrepreneur – Aakash Sethi is the CEO at Quest Alliance.
Aakash is focused on equipping India’s youth with 21st century skills for the evolving work landscape via self-learning. He’s embedding self-learning principles into India’s education and vocational systems, turning teachers into advocates for these modern skills. This empowers students to take control of their own educational and career journeys.
Before leading Quest Alliance, Aakash collaborated with Microsoft in Istanbul, focusing on digital inclusion and IT skill development. He served as the Country Director for the International Youth Foundation and co-established Quest Alliance with USAID’s support in India. With a history in AIESEC, he’s engaged in youth leadership programs across 10+ countries.
A staunch advocate for business’s role in poverty reduction and the power of collaborative networks, Aakash is an Ashoka fellow, Asia 21 leader, and board member of the CMCA. He graduated in Economics from St. Xavier’s College, Ahmedabad.
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