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Thinktastic managing director Mike Stevenson chaired a debate between leading politicians and educationalists and challenged Scottish schools to produce a new generation of creative and compassionate young people on Wednesday 18th August 2010 at the Scottish Parliament building.
The debate took place as part of Edinburgh’s Festival of Politics at the Scottish Parliament. It featured discussion and commentary from General Teaching Council for Scotland (GTC) Chief Executive Tony Finn, UK Ambassador for Action for Children the Right Honourable Jack McConnell of Glenscorrodale, MSP, award-winning head teacher Isabelle Boyd CBE and legendary singer songwriter Ewan McVicar. The prestigious panel discussed whether compassion and philanthropy were working in harmony to produce truly global citizens.
Quotes and comments from the event:
Mike Stevenson said: “Scotland has a confidence deficit. We have long wrestled with our place in the world. We accept indefensible levels of ill health, poverty and alcohol abuse. We accept an inherited dependency on the state to tackle community and family challenges. We are burdened by a weary ‘don’t get above yourself’ cynicism.
“Teachers instinctively recognise this frontline. The debate represented a unique opportunity to examine how we can practically equip our young people to live healthier, happier, more enterprising lives. The important points that emerged from the debate was how schools are ‘think-tanks’ stuffed with the ingenuity and imagination we need to rediscover our nation’s pride and that it takes real confidence to stand up to the cynicism that too often follows a kind act, especially in the corporate world.
“There is real evidence that our children have a natural desire to help those in need which will help shape the future for this country.
“Most importantly, the good work that is done in our schools to develop these compassionate, enterprising and creative ideologies needs to be echoed throughout our communities, universities and businesses to make a real difference in the world. This is not vague wishful thinking. This is a new mandate for tackling Scotland’s confidence deficit in a surprisingly effective way.”
To see how Thinktastic is leading this change:
The Thinktastic Manifesto charts our commitment to building strong energetic businesses and enterprising communities.
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