Greta Rossi left her career in mainstream higher education to start Akasha Innovation, where a new venture aims to help young people build a better future for themselves and generations to come
“The future belongs to those who can see it.” (Sir Joseph Rotblat)
The future is becoming harder to see for the young people it should belong to. The paradigm we live in today is collapsing and creating unpredictable challenges that life on this planet will face tomorrow. My generation must prepare for uncertain times ahead.
I have always believed in the potential for education to transform lives. However, I am growing sceptical that modern higher education can guide young people along a path towards a better future. Unaffordable tuition and rising debt are just the tip of the iceberg we seem to be heading towards. We must reinvent higher education to avoid this crash and help young people navigate the difficult straits that await them.
I left my work in mainstream higher education after discovering inspiring alternatives. These initiatives gave me the courage to set up Akasha Innovation and reclaim a transformative role for young people. After two years dedicated to researching and piloting different approaches to training young changemakers, we realised that the best way to prepare them for the future is found in reviving the idea of “learning for life”.
“We must reinvent higher education to avoid this crash and help young people navigate the difficult straits that await them.”
Although the concept has established traditions within universities, our approach to learning for life might seem revolutionary in a world now dominated by a consumer-model of higher education.
First, learning for life focuses on the life of young people: they deserve learning that helps them discover their unique purpose and is fuelled by their passion. We can offer relevant learning that inspires them to find new meaning to the life they lead and learn to enjoy it to the fullest. Second, learning for life does not stop at graduation. The only constant in life in change, so we need to provide young people with support that continues beyond the first steps of their lifelong journey. Third, learning for life is in service of people and planet. Life on Earth has learned to survive and thrive over 3.8 billion years. We risk losing invaluable wisdom if we do not pass these lessons on to young people and empower them to create a world for all life to flourish in.
This concept of learning for life lies at the heart of our new Akasha Akademy. We offer transformative courses training young people for each stage of their lifelong journey as a changemaker. This is a new home for them to discover their unique purpose. A new generation of young changemakers are learning to see the world anew and envision futures that belong to them and generations to come.
Akasha Innovation is currently recruiting young people aged 18-30 to enrol in the foundation course of the Akasha Akademy.
Akasha Innovation is a partner of Positive News.
