Emotional intelligence is a key driver for global competence: An interview with Dr. Anantha Duraiappah
Dr. Anantha K Duraiappah, Director, UNESCO Mahatma Gandhi Institute of Education for Peace and Sustainable Development (MGIEP) was recently interviewed by AFS Intercultural Programs about the importance of teaching global competence in future education systems.
May 16, 2018
Dr. Anantha K Duraiappah, Director, UNESCO Mahatma Gandhi Institute of Education for Peace and Sustainable Development (MGIEP) was recently interviewed by AFS Intercultural Programs about the importance of teaching global competence in future education systems.
The interview was conducted in lead up to the AFS Global Conference to be held in Budapest in September 2018 on the topic “Global Competence: Our Future, Our Responsibility”, during which Dr. Duraiappah will be speaking. The interview was steered by Ms. Milena MILANDINOVIC, Senior Writer and Social Media Specialist, AFS Intercultural Programs.
During the interview, Dr. Duraiappah discussed the critical need to build ‘emotional intelligence’ of young learners through experiential and immersive learning methodologies, in addition to building ‘intellectual intelligence’, which current education systems promote.
He expressed the need to educate young learners in "socio-emotional skills such as empathy, compassion and mindfulness", which would help them understand themselves better and in turn understand and appreciate other cultures.
Further, Dr. Duraiappah discussed some recent findings in the learning sciences, including the neuroscience of learning, which suggest that our brains can be ‘trained’ or ‘wired’ in emotional intelligence. He elaborated on how technology can be used as a transformative pedagogy to promote experiential learning through artificial intelligence, virtual reality, augmented reality, games for learning, amongst others.
Dr. Duraiappah also expressed the need for educators to be brought on board from a nascent stage while designing content and provide them with adequate training in content and delivery / technology.
View Dr. Duraiappah’s full interview with the AFS Intercultural Programs here
About the AFS Global Conference:
AFS Intercultural Programs with UNESCO MGIEP and other content partners is hosting the first ever 2018 AFS Global Conference, titled ‘Global Competence: Our Future, Our Responsibility, 26 – 28 September 2018 in Budapest.
The inaugural AFS Global Conference will provide the first-of-its-kind opportunity for real alignment and cooperation among all sectors that have the need and the resources to develop global competence in classrooms, lecture halls and all learning and training environments that extend beyond formal education.
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