Genius 100 Foundation (G100) celebrates the life and legacy of Sir Ken Robinson, the world’s most well-known education luminary, by releasing his vision statement included in the 3D publishing milestone Genius: 100 Visions of the Future publicly for the first time.
For our children to thrive now and in future, we have to re-imagine education. Imagination and creativity are at the root of every uniquely human achievement. Poignantly, they have now brought us to a critical pass. Our appetites are straining the earth’s capacity to sustain us and our attempts to force it to do so are fueling a holocaust of other species. Our technologies are evolving exponentially, but spiritually and emotionally, we’re not keeping pace. To meet these existential challenges, we have to harness our creativity to a more sustainable vision of the lives we hope to lead. Mass systems of education are based on conformity, standardization and competition and they are failing us badly. Our children urgently need forms of education based on diversity, creativity and collaboration:
Diversity: Human capacities are stunningly diverse, which is why human accomplishments are so breathtakingly multifarious. Rather than focus on particular forms of academic ability, education should cultivate and celebrate this diversity.
Creativity: Einstein said that imagination is more important than knowledge. He did not mean that fantasy is more important than facts, but that the boundaries of knowledge are constantly reset by bold visions and transcendent questions.
Collaboration: We are social creatures. Every civilization is built on a fragile ecology of ideas, systems and expertise, only a fraction of which anyone of us can understand. As Einstein puts it, the aim of education must be “the training of independently acting and thinking individuals, who see in the service of the community their highest life problem.”
Around us and within us, we have all the resources we need to meet the challenges we face. The only way to develop and focus these resources is through forms of education that reconnect us with the natural world of which we are part and the deeper qualities that make us who we are. Cold reason is not enough. As Einstein noted, we have learned by painful experience that “rational thinking does not suffice to solve the problems of our social life”. The lesson we most need to learn is that there’s more to life on earth than human beings and more to being human than self-interest. Our futures all depend on learning this lesson by heart.
"The human capacity to solve hard problems is virtually limitless when purpose and intent are manifest."– Daniel Goldin, G100 Visionary
"Today, there is so much focus on what divides us, but incredible power comes from magnifying what connects us."– Tiffany Shlain, G100 Visionary
Chris Hadfield
Astronaut, former commander of the international space station, the first canadian to walk in space
Deepak Chopra
Title herefounder, the chopra foundation, co founder of jiyo.com and the chopra center for wellbeing. bestselling author, renowned pioneer in integrative medicine and personal transformation
Barbra Streisand
Award-winning actress and singer, director, writer and activist
Shinya Yamanaka
Nobel laureate in stem cell research, director of the center for ips cell research and application (cira) at kyoto university
Shimon Peres (1923-2016)
Former president and prime minister of israel, nobel peace laureate
Frank Gehry
Award-winning and internationally-renowned architect
Zubin Mehta
Multiple-award-winning classical music conductor, hollywood walk of fame inductee
Ruth Bader Ginsburg
Associate justice of the supreme court of the united states
Rick Hansen
Paralympic athlete, activist, and philanthropist for people with disabilities
Steven Chu
Nobel laureate in physics, former u.s. secretary of energy under the obama administration (2009 – 2013)
Johann Olav Koss
Four-time olympic gold medalist in speed skating, internationally renowned social entrepreneur, right to play international founder
Julia Kristeva
Philosopher, psychoanalyst, award-winning writer
"To solve an issue, the development of solutions must outpace the development of problems."– Boyan Slat, Genius 100 Visionary
"In such a short time, you can make such a difference in one's life."– Dr. Sanduk Ruit, G100 Visionary
Current Projects
"We see with our brain no less than we see with our eyes."On the occasion of the 100th anniversary of Albert Einstein's creation of the General Theory of Relativity, we invited our inaugural community of 100 geniuses to share their visions for the future. The result is Genius: 100 Visions of the Future, the world's first 3D-printed book. Designed by renowned industrial designer, artist, and architect Ron Arad, the collection is produced in the likeness of its inspiration, Einstein himself. While the first-edition print run is highly limited, the book's reach has already proven itself to be profound – and not only because, in partnership with NASA, a copy was printed in space. As our foundational project, Genius: 100 Visions was the spark that ignited collaborative energy between its contributors. It points to inspiring, untried paths, and fuels the commitment and excitement that drive the Genius 100 visionaries to work together to develop solutions and breakthroughs for the near and distant future.– Amir Amedi, G100 Visionary
"Only a life lived for others is a life worthwhile."– Colonel Chris Hadfield, G100 Visionary