The United Nations has described the global scale and pace of education disruption from COVID-19 as “unparalleled”. Across the world, over a billion students are out of school, with numbers increasing each day. Education officials at all levels, in addition to parents and caregivers, are attempting to keep students engaged and learning at home through a variety of modes.

However, amid all the fear, panic and unknowns, new channels of innovation, creativity and systemic transformation are also accelerating at unprecedented levels. School systems have been forced to rethink traditional learning models, and rapidly build, test and pilot new structures to accommodate a completely different reality. When the dust settles, COVID-19 may present itself as a microcosm of what’s to come.

A conference in four parts, this joint WISE – Salzburg Global Seminar virtual convening, will unpack the consequences of COVID-19 on the traditional school model and consider how we best optimize this time of crisis to rapidly innovate and embed system-wide change in our schools and education systems. Day one of the event – April 15 – will look at how leaders, policymakers and practitioners around the world are currently responding to the COVID-19 crisis. Day two of the event – April 16 – will consider the opportunities the current situation presents to accelerate system-wide innovation for the future.

• Day 1: April 15, 2020 – Education Disrupted: how leaders, policymakers and practitioners from around the world are currently responding to the COVID-19 crisis
• Day 2: April 16, 2020 – Education Reimagined: how innovation and system-wide change is being accelerated during the current crisis