The idea behind AEIFORIA is to encourage a change in people's attitudes and involvement in the context of global sustainability, as well as to foster the development of new ethical perceptions, through new and constantly evolving educational paradigms.
The central pillar on which this idea rests is, following the conclusion arrived at in the Context section, participation:
• A wide participation throughout society is very beneficial for solving problems effectively. It helps to better understand the problems themselves, it gives a greater variety of solutions and it provides the resources necessary to implement them.
• Participation is a fundamental element of the learning process and it enhances the sense of responsibility in people. This is especially true when considering the complex issues related to the idea of sustainability, which connect the sphere of abstract ethical considerations with practical action in multiple interrelated dimensions.
• Furthermore, we stress that a fundamental aspect of the ethical and educational paradigms on which we base our thinking, and the practical mechanisms that are developed around them, is that they are subject to constant evolution. In this sense, we may consider them to be alive, and this is precisely what makes them useful. Naturally, participation is the motor of this evolution. Therefore, it is essential to provide the flexibility necessary for opportunities to open for all individuals to express their own subjectivity as a singular but essential contribution to the whole.
We give special emphasis to a holistic approach to education:
• We believe in the "creativity of diversity" principle, which is stimulated by interdisciplinary and multicultural efforts.
• We acknowledge that the learning process is a dynamic one, and the paradigms on which a holistic education is based are subject to constant evolution.
• The collaborative processes that emanate from the "creativity of diversity" principle are themselves just as important as the actual results these processes yield. This idea follows from the virtues of the participative approach described above. The "creativity of diversity" thus stimulates the evolution of paradigms referred to in the previous point.
• We aim at enhancing the social ability of learning by improving the methods and mechanisms of education. That is, we believe it is important not only to concentrate on the content of the education, but also on the structure and tools of the education system, and to investigate the changing challenges and opportunities of education.
will
will@aeiforia.org
AEIFORIA - Director of the Web section
www.aeiforia.org
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