Gnist Nordic Inspiration Journey 2020

Join Gnist to explore learning in Nordic cultures. 

Gnist is an organization that creates tools, experiences, and schools to help people see the world in new ways and rediscover the joy of curiosity and learning. In April or May 2020, join us on an inspiration journey to explore how communities and institutions are transforming themselves to be powerful engines of learning. In particular, we’ll be exploring themes of play, creativity, intergenerational collaboration, life long learning in Finland and Denmark. We have selected these two countries because both are leaders in education and have been ranked the happiest countries in the world. How did this come to be? How do they hold the balance of learning and joy? How can their approach be translated into other contexts? 

Our time as a group will be spent in Espoo and Helsinki, Finland and Aarhus, Denmark. In each city, we’ll visit a range of sites and learn first-hand from school leaders, students, organizations, policy-makers, and deeply inspiring creatives. We’ll use these visits to spark ideas and insights that we can bring home to shape our own leadership and organizations. In addition to the guided visits, there will be a free weekend in Copenhagen where you’ll have an opportunity to be independent, inspired learners with prompts from us. The fundamental goal of this experience is to open up new worlds of possibility for you and your organization. We believe that learning is everywhere for everyone.

This is right if you are…

/ An education leader or student who wants to imagine new possibilities for education 

/ Hungry to explore what meaningful learning will look like in the future

/ Contemplating how we must transform schools, cities, and systems to foster new ways of learning

/ Eager to explore and collaborate across cultures and ages

/ Up for taking some risks and driving your own learning

Timing and Location 

The inspiration tour will start on Thursday 04/23 and end on Wednesday 04/29 (or 05/14 – 05/20). We will begin in Finland and make our way to Denmark. You will have a free weekend to be independent learners (with some guidance) in Copenhagen (and/or Malmö which is in Sweden and is a short train ride from Copenhagen). 

Logistics 

• You will be responsible for your travel to Finland and back from Denmark
• We will organize transportation, lodging, and meals within each country and from Finland to Denmark 
• During the free weekend, we can book hotels for the group, but you are free to stay where you’d like, just let us know your preference. 
• We will cap participation at 20 adults and 10 students

Photo credit: Mikkel Kaldal