We believe education should have the power to transform lives, enabling continued profound positive change and personal growth and ultimately to build a better world. For such growth to occur, however, our educational institutions need to understand transformation and recognise that radical changes may be necessary for a fundamental institutional renewal. Guerrand-Hermès Foundation for Peace and Al Akhawayn University have come together to organise an international conference that explores the key question

How do our educational institutions need to change in order for learning to become genuinely transformative?

Our goals for this conference were ambitious, as we set out to provide students, faculty, administrators, and educational officials of all levels with confidence and courage for institutional innovation through a profound shared experience and exploration of personal transformation. Together we constructed an open and safe space and an honest collegial environment where educational leaders, practitioners and students were able to engage in dialogue, interaction and reflection. Through this experiential and interactive process, we discovered, defined and inspired personal and institutional change in an innovative, open and rigorous way.

Background

Varindra (Tarzie) Vittachi, after whom the conference is named, was a Sri Lankan journalist who served as the deputy executive director of UNICEF. Dr. Vittachi's commitment to the world's children and youth as well as to education has inspired these conferences.

The first Vittachi international conference, Educating for a Human Future, 'held during June 2001 in Indonesia, had 200 participants from over twenty countries. The second conference Learning to Live a Personally Sustainable Life' was held in rural Colorado in August 2003.

The Guerrand-Hermès Foundation for Peace (GHFP) is a global think-tank and catalyst for positive change. Its mission is to create quiet, safe and open spaces for dialogue, communication and transformation. Among other things, the GHFP has initiated and sponsored a num be r of international conferences on education, including the V.T. Vittachi conferences for young people and international educators' conferences. It also supports educational and youth projects worldwide.

Al Akhawayn University in Ifrane (AUI) is a Moroccan university and contributes to the attainment of Morocco's educational, cultural and economic objectives. The University seeks to serve Morocco and the international community by producing graduates, through strong academic and professional programs as well as advancing science and technology. As a new institution operating since 1995, the University's innovative approach to higher education in Morocco is a means to stimulate discussion and lead transformation of the educational landscape of Morocco. The teaching, research and scholarship at AUI is rooted in the humanist tradition and seeks to make linkages to global, regional and local customs and habits. We support and encourage research activity in many areas of national and international interest and place particular emphasis on socio-economic issues.

Education as Transformation (EasT) serves as a resource for the educational community as it attempts to define the role of religious pluralism and spirituality in the educational process. Since 1996, EasT has sponsored conferences and provided consulting services and resource materials to educational institutions.

Blue Sky Associates is an NGO dedicated to being a catalyst for educational change. It is the host of the World Wisdom Project and the sponsor of a series of Wisdom Gatherings, as well as the first two Vittachi international conferences.