Page 11 - Journal 2018A

Martin Westwell
Chief Executive, SACE Board of SA
Hosting the International Astronautical Congress was a real coup
for South Australia. It built on our space heritage and invigorated the State’s commitment to space- related industries.
Being forward-looking, the International Astronautical Congress asked some big questions of science educators in South Australia. Are we adequately preparing young people to make the most of a future where space industries, cybersecurity issues, and arti cial intelligence are part of everyday life? Increasingly, when we are developing curricula and the educational experiences that students need, it seems that we are being asked to make impossible predictions about the future.
One person with a track record of making successful predictions was James Martin. In his 1978 book The wired society: a challenge for tomorrow he declared that ‘the phone
of the future will be more mobile, do a host
of different tasks, and be part of a complex, far-reaching information network’. Because of this sort of foresight, from 1977 to 2000 his ve-day seminars on the future of computer systems (and the little-known internet) often commanded ticket prices of several thousand dollars per head. He was a guru of the information age.
Martin gave Oxford University about A$200 million for what became the Oxford Martin School, which was charged with encouraging the intellectual capital of the university to face outwards, think globally and address some of the burning issues of the day. I was lucky enough to work at the Institute for the Future of the Mind, which was funded by the Oxford Martin School, before I came to South Australia in 2007. The School continues to provide insight that decision-makers around the world draw on when dealing with current and anticipated issues.
In 2006 Martin published The meaning of the 21st century: a vital blueprint for ensuring our future. It paints a picture of a forthcoming ‘age of extremes’ governed by scienti c advances and increasingly radical ideologies. I think even Martin would have been surprised by how quickly many of his predictions have come to pass.
When asked ‘If you were to pick any time in history to be alive, which time would you pick?’, he responded,
‘I would want to be a teenager now, in a country where great education is available.’
Of course, people thought his answer
was crazy, and cited his own book, which describes the polluting of the planet, tensions from overpopulation, and continued over- consumption, with water and other resources running out. He had predicted a rise in terrorism, runaway nanotechnology, and the threat of a biotechnology war.
Despite this, Martin argued that
‘... more than at any other time, young people will make a spectacular difference. Revolutionary change is essential and today’s young people will make it happen.’
There needs to be a crusading determination to bring about the changes [needed]. Today’s young people will collectively determine the outcome of this make-or-break century. If they understand what is possible, the Transition Generation can open up a highway to by far the most creative era in history.’
That is your students he is talking about!
Number 01 / 2018
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Opinion: Education for Revolutionary Changes