Can you provide a brief overview of your background and expertise?
A migrant in childhood, an inhabitant of a tiny rural island, who still actively builds on this experience in her work. A psychologist dedicated to education. A lector of global education and critical thinking, who uses elements of experiential teaching and storytelling.
Executive director and programme manager of a non- profit organization the main purpose of which is to inspire people to embrace change, respect and responsibility.
What are the main takeaways or insights you aim to deliver during your talk, and how do you believe they will benefit the audience?
We all have infinite ideas, plans, wishes and dreams in our lives. At the same time, we all inhabit a finite planet with finite resources and space for life. How to be part of a human community, living sustainably and creating an emphatic society? How to engage students in topics of climate change, sustainable consumption and introduce global challenges to them in a positive way? We will try to find answers to these questions.
Can you recall a particularly memorable experience related to teaching or training that left a lasting impact on you?
It’s something that happened more than a decade ago. I arrived, inexperienced but fully equipped with teaching aids, at a primary school in a small village somewhere near Nitra, ready to discuss the roots of poverty with the pupils. The seventh graders ran the gamut from curious to bored and apathetic. During one activity, as we considered possible solutions to this global problem, one boy suggested, “We can send all the poor to the gas chambers like the Jews.” My mind then froze for a moment. I waited for the others to respond, but the discussion continued without objection. What I did was the easiest thing to do, but it was also the worst thing I could have done. I didn’t say a word. The hour was drawing to a close. On the way to the train station, however, tears streamed down my face. How could I have failed so badly? What should I have done? Did the boy really mean it?
So in the years that followed, I spent a lot of time talking to former members and current young supporters of extremist groups, as well as experts on deradicalisation.
Who or what has been a significant influence or inspiration in your professional journey?
I have spent my childhood on a rural island and experienced firsthand, what a collapse of ecosystem looks like. My daughter is half Indian living in a white central Slovak context, exposed to stereotypes and prejudice. In the US I was “adopted” by a South African refugee family who showed me a whole different perspective and the mindset of Ubuntu philosophy. All these events and many more have formed me personally and professionally on my journey through global education.
Do you have any passion projects or hobbies that contribute to your broader understanding of teaching and learning?
Ooooo so many passion projects- our horse is my big teacher and inspiration in educating others, crafts are a perfect way to declutter my mind, reading is a passion of my life.
