Global Dream literacy initiative launched by Dr Sunita Gandhi is all set to launch one-of-a-kind platform for disruptive change in literacy and education on Tuesday, 8 Jun 2021 through D-Talks or Disruptive Talks with focus on Foundational Literacy and Numeracy. This live talks the platform is all set to bring great thinkers, practitioners and eminent personalities from India and worldwide such as top government officers, educationists, and leaders from corporates, national and international foundations, and voluntary organizations to discuss most urgent issues concerning education, in particular that of adult literacy and foundational literacy and numeracy (FLN) skills in children.
Regarding the theme of Disruptive Talks, Dr Sunita Gandhi, who is also the Vice Chairman of India Literacy Board, told us that, “Literacy was a persistent problem in the past and even more so now due to the Pandemic. The status quo is not a sufficient response to the crises, nor are the best of historical solutions to the problem. We need disruptive solutions that are groundbreaking, swift, effective, low or zero cost, replicable and scalable. The presenters on D-talks Literacy Series will share their ideas for solutions to the widening learning poverty and their insights, ideas gained through their years of experience.”
Universal FLN is a priority under Sustainable Development Goals to be accomplished by 2030 but many countries are falling far behind. This month, D-Talks is taking up a highly pressing issue of school closures that has affected students’ learning, especially the negative impact on primary school children. The line-up of confirmed speakers in the month of June include Shri Anil Swarup IAS, Former MHRD Secretary & Founder, Nexus of Good, Shri Sarvendra Vikram Bahadur Singh, Director Basic Education, UP, Shri Vijay Karan Anand, IAS, Director General Samaghra Shiksha, UP, Shri Anup Rajput, Head, Department of Elementary Education, NCERT, Shri Yogesh Kumar IAS, Additional Commissioner, MGNREGA, UP, Shri Nixon Joseph, Former President & COO, SBI Foundation, Shri Ravindra Singh, IAS, Chairman, India Literacy Board, Shri Aditya Ranjan, IAS, Director, Department of Rural Development, Jharkhand, Shri Anindit Roy Chowdhury, Director of Programmes & Policy, Save the Children, India, Khalid Chaudhry, Associate Director, Action Aid India, Associate Shri Prateek Kanwal, Project Director, Educate Girls and many other visionaries and practitioners.
On the International front, eminent speakers joining the D-Talks in June are Dickson Nkwabi from Tanzania, Stephen Peters, President, International Literacy Association, USA, Sean Bellamy, Ashoka Change Leader, UK, K. Lee Marks, Founder, Podcast Farms, USA, and, Molly Ness, Board Member, International Literacy Association, USA. They will be imparting their vision towards the betterment of education from their unique perspectives.
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D-talks is an international forum that brings together decision-makers and practitioners to brainstorm, share ideas and collaborate. Commenting on Global Dream Initiative D-Talks, Meg Pagani, Founder, Impacton, UK and Portugal said, “Dr. Sunita Gandhi was able to identify how to create a path to literacy that can be modelled, adapted and adopted by the most diverse cultures and local languages, with very little to no resources and a community-driven approach. This makes her program one of the initiatives with the highest degree of both scope and depth of impact I have ever come across, one which I am intended to support myself. D-Talks create a much needed platform.”
The D-Talks will be broadcast live on the Global Dream’s YouTube page (https://www.youtube.com/ GlobalDream). Join the D-Talks #DisruptiveLiteracy movement on globaldream.guru/dtalks and show solidarity. Everyone’s support counts!
About Dr Sunita Gandhi:
Dr. Sunita Gandhi is the India’s leading educationist scaling up disruptive literacy and education and the vision behind the Global Dream Shala. With her several years of experience in the education industry, Dr. Gandhi has managed to create a space for herself in the history of revolutionizing the academic system.
After completing her Ph.D. from Cambridge University, UK, Sunita went on to become President and Co-Founder, Council for Global Education, USA. While academics remained her first love, she wanted to leave an impact on the younger minds rather than spending her youth in a closed environment. And so, she traveled across the globe and studied the education systems of 39 countries and spoke at several conferences including the recently held BETTA Asia. This passion for education comes as a family heirloom to Sunita as they are known for running the world’s largest school, Guinness World Record holder, City Montessori School (CMS), Lucknow. CMS is also the world’s sole school recipient of the UNESCO Prize for Peace Education.
