We all know the importance of soft skills for our professional future but what about our personal future? The past week I had the privilege of attending a very interesting event in the South of Italy that attempted to answer this question.
On Sunday the 26th of May, I was invited to join a round table in Galatina, Italy, on the topics of education and sustainability. The goal of the meeting was to delve into the changes needed to the education system in order to address the pressing issues around climate change, bio-diversity, and environmental sustainability. Students, teachers, principals, and representatives of the local administration all shared their point of view.
It was a very pleasant surprise to realize that we all agreed on two basic points:
1) our future as a society on this planet is indissolubly tied to our ability to cultivate our food in a sustainable way, preserving and fostering bio-diversity
2) it is indispensable for the success of the above point that we change the way we live and work as well as the way we do things.
In short, we need to develop soft skills if we are to thrive on this planet. The changes that are about to come are unavoidable and will affect everyone, regardless of the place they live or their status. These changes will be so profound that to assimilate them and still thrive we will have to equip ourselves with great doses of resilience, adaptability, and ingenuity.
Teachers and principals insisted that it’s our responsibility to teach these skills in school both for the sake of our children’s future and our own, for when the children will take the helm of society. Local administrations insisted that these skills should be taught in the workplace so that the workforce itself can implement the strategies to begin making our economy sustainable.
Of course, we couldn’t be more pleased to discover such a fertile ground for our services! At this meeting, it was agreed that 5 schools in Salento will begin the new school year with an activity dedicated to the measurement and training of soft skills. These activities are part of the programs offered by Gruppo Dedalos that combine physical activities, like in the garden ,with soft skills training based on Wisepath's SkillQuest solution.
Our partners believe, like we do, that the way out from the problems of the present requires finding the balance of activities in the physical and digital worlds.
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