What Can Schools Learn From the Recently Concluded G-20 Summit?

Perhaps one of the greatest achievements of the recently concluded New Delhi G-20 summit was the inclusion of the African Union into the group. This is an important takeaway for all schools; building a culture of inclusion and acceptance is of utmost importance today. In times when the world is breaking into factions, silos and groups based on ethnicity, creed and culture, it is of prime importance for schools to have a curative function. Families are no longer what they were and values are no longer taught like they used to be in extended families. If we look at schools as extended families, then it is their moral responsibility to create an atmosphere of inclusion.

The second most important takeaway from the New Delhi G-20 summit was in the area of conflict resolution. While the summit did not name the two warring nations, it did, however send out a strong message that conflicts should be resolved through dialogue, discussions and communications. Schools will do well to address this issue by attempting to create an atmosphere of free and fair discussions because conflicts that are not resolved will add up to the toxicity of the atmosphere. An atmosphere of free and fair dialogue can only be created when there are people to hear each other. Creating an atmosphere of fear, whereby people are afraid to voice their concerns can only add up to negativity. The New Delhi G-20 summit found a way 'to give and take and negotiate and find a way to agree, to set a path for the world to see', according to Ajay Banga, President, World Bank, and that is exactly what we need to teach our students and their teachers. The community out there, if not the world is closely watching us and so we need to get our act together.

The third most important takeaway from the G-20 summit was its ability to achieve a 'consensus and a compromise on all important issues' according to Mr Bruno Le Maire, the Minister of Economy of France. We need to create a culture of 'consensus  and compromise' in our schools amongst students and teachers alike. Often head on confrontations can vitiate the teaching-learning atmosphere. This can have a very bad impact on the image of the school too.

They say when you teach a girl child you teach a whole community, but then when you open a school you teach a whole city. When you have a good school with sound values you shut down a prison. When you have good school culture you shut down a mental asylum. When you work on developing a culture of sound mental health in students and teachers, you create a happy community. When you create a happy community you create a happy country. A country's happiness index matters to a great extent on the quality of education it provides to its students. By quality, I don't mean just rigour in academics, but rather sound emotional, mental and spiritual culture. The New Delhi G-20 summit proves that one can create a happy culture of consensus and compromise, to give and take, negotiate and agree and to set a path towards a common goal. These are the skills that we need to create in our students today, and this is the culture that we need to develop in our schools. While people might argue that the G-20 summit lasted much less than an academic year, one might still point out that if even in that short period of time it was possible to convince all the great leaders to a common consensus then it should still be possible to convince children who are more impressionable.

The New Delhi G-20 delved into the concept of sustainable development, financing important projects, empowering the world through through digital technology, making the whole world come together. The picture I have posted on top exemplifies what the New Delhi G-20 summit was aimed at and how its main aims could be used to improve school health. Social Emotional Learning programmes could benefit a lot by emulating how the G-20 summit was conducted.