Dubai

Thinking Schools International has entered into a partnership with the Future Leadership Academy in Dubai where they are developing a Thinking School approach.

Background

The Future Leadership Academy (FLA) has a dream – “to make the world a better place through child and youth centred leadership, holistic intelligence and social impact……..It is an open source leadership learning platform rather than a physical building, a school of thinking, a youth social innovation incubator, a positive change agent, a community builder, a business school, a think-tank and a research centre – all rolled into one. A pioneering social venture that is driven by the vision to be directly responsible for developing 1 million young future leaders across the Middle East, Africa and South Asia by 2015.”

 

Currently, the FLA is working with students from 10 to 18 years old on a range of programmes that support the three main threads of their work; think, lead and impact.  Students attend after-school or weekend sessions, the latter being referred to as Boot Camps!

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Current Situation

In January 2013, Nick Symes, TSI International Director, went to Dubai and work with a team of FLA facilitators, introducing them to the Thinking School approach and training them in a range of tools and techniques.  The week was rounded off with a one day Think Camp for students who were introduced to and coached in some thinking strategies. The FLA team have developed a suite of Think Camp activities and are now working in two schools in Dubai.

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Future

The FLA are already looking at ways of working with and influencing the Dubai education system to develop opportunities for introducing a whole school approach towards embedding thinking at the heart of the curriculum – the Thinking School model.  As is so often the case once one school takes up the TSI approach, others become curious and then interested. In addition, the FLA plans to develop similar models of working in other neighbouring countries.