Last week, I referred to the concepts of 鈥渂ildung鈥� and 鈥渇olk-bildung.鈥� If we are to evolve our culture to a more mature one, 颅better suited to live in a socially just way within the limits of the one small planet that is our home, these concepts are worth 颅pursuing.
In exploring the German concept of bildung and the Nordic experience of 颅folk-bildung I am indebted to a lengthy 2018 overview by Jonathan Reams of the 2017 book The Nordic Secret by Lene Andersen and Tomas Bj枚rkman.
The roots of the concept of bildung can be traced back to the Enlightenment in the 18th century, to a small group of intellectuals that included Goethe, and to the 1809 reform of the Prussian education system. Andersen and Bj枚rkman tell us that it was based on the principle that education 鈥渕ust be personal development, moral development and a deep engagement with the academic 颅endeavours. It must be a path to finding one鈥檚 true 颅personality鈥︹��.
These ideas were later picked up in 颅Denmark by Nikolaj Grundtvig, who wrote in 1836 about the need for 鈥渆ducation for life鈥� 鈥� 鈥渁 school where the peasants of 颅Danish society can be 鈥� shaped into 颅responsible 颅citizens who can participate in and 颅contribute to the betterment of their society.鈥� These ideas were taken up and implemented by Christen Kold in the 1860s, who founded the 鈥渇olk high schools鈥� 鈥� a 19th century cross between a community college and adult education.
These ideas then spread to Norway and Sweden, and both Reams and the authors of The Nordic Secret believe it is the 颅implementation of these ideas of folk 颅bildung 鈥� 鈥渢he intentional cultivation of moral, emotional and cognitive development鈥� and of 鈥渁 sense of responsibility towards self and society鈥� 鈥� that were key to the success of the Nordic countries in the 20th century. That success, Reams suggests, is founded on three 鈥渒ey principles evident in Nordic 颅society; humanism, trust and responsibility.
And how is this relevant today, and here? Well, we are at a transition point not that different from the scale and significance of the transition 鈥渇rom poor agricultural to rich industrialized countries鈥� that the 颅Nordic countries successfully achieved. Our transition, however, has to be from a rich and materialistic but often unjust 颅consumer society to one that is more 颅ecologically and socially responsible, more mature in its relationships with the Earth and with other people 鈥� what we and others call a One Planet society.
This transition requires the development of new core values to drive our societal and personal decision-making, as well as the knowledge and skills needed to live a socially just One Planet way of life. We think one way to successfully navigate this 颅transition, beyond the Conversations we 颅currently organize on what it means to be a One Planet region, will be to create a 21st century 颅version of 鈥渇olk bildung鈥� and 鈥渇olk high schools鈥� here in this region.
This accords well with a column by George Monbiot in The Guardian a year ago in which he wrote of the need for 鈥渢he reclamation of a culture of public learning鈥� and the restoration of 鈥渁 rich public culture of intellectual self-improvement.鈥� This will mean re-acquiring 鈥渢he habit of rigorous learning in adulthood鈥� that we have lost.
Monbiot points to the workers education movement of the early to mid-20th century as an example. Inspired by the 1903 U.K. example, the Workers Education 颅Asssociation of sa国际传媒 was set up in Toronto in 1917, and while now much reduced, until the advent of community colleges in the 1960s was the primary provider of adult 颅education in sa国际传媒, according to its 颅website.
While we cannot simply apply in today鈥檚 world the 19th century concepts of bildung and folk high schools, or 20th century models of worker education, the social transformation we need will require something along those lines. So what would a 21st century version look like? While there is not yet a clear answer, we are certain that just as the Conversations need to be in person and local, so too would 鈥渆ducation for life鈥� in a One Planet region, because it is also about 颅building a sense of community and of place.
Dr. Trevor Hancock is a retired professor and senior scholar at the University of Victoria鈥檚 School of Public Health and Social Policy.
