The Future of Bildung in the Nordics

March 6-7, 2025, på Nordiska Folkhögskolan i Kungälv,
just north of Gothenburg, Sverige

Från vuggestue och dagis till yrkesskolor, universitet, livslångt lärande och professionell utbildning på arbetsplatsen; vi behöver sivistys från vagga till grav. Men hur gör vi det?

The conference will be in Scandinavian and English. Program below.

Full conference package: SEK 3.799,- / € 329,-

Incl. conference, all meals, and accommodation
in a single room Thursday to Friday
Same room 1 extra night Wednesday to Thursday or per night over the weekend: SEK 999,- / € 89,-

Conference only: SEK 2.299,- / € 199,-

Both days incl. conference and all conference meals

Conference Thursday or Friday only: SEK 1.299,- / € 119,-

Ticket sales close on February 21
Tickets will be charged in Euro

Buy ticket now

takes you to nordicbildung.org


Program Torsdag, 6 mars


10:30 Coffee is served

Mingel och morgensang!

11:00-11:55 Pre-conference parallel sessions

Rum 1

Analogize! On the Need for Analogue Bildung in a Digitalized World

Niels Jakob Pasgaard er cand.pæd. i filosofi og lektor ved pædagoguddannelsen i VIA, Danmark

Rum 2

Your presentation here?

Rum 3

Your presentation here?

2 pre-conference slots are still open; you will have 45 minutes to present your work, get feedback, host a discussion, or run a workshop; the 55 minutes are entirely yours.

Interested? Send us an email about what you would like to present and how before February 10 at:


12:00-13:00 Lunch


13:00-14:30 Official opening of the conference: The Future of Bildung in the Nordics

Welcome by the organizers:

Välkomna! Och varför ett Nordiskt Nätverk för Bildning?

Ludvig Claeson
Secretary General at The Adult Education Association of Music in Norway, Norge

Varför bildning? Varför nu? Och varför vi?

Lene Rachel Andersen
Author of The Nordic Secret, President, Nordic Bildung, Danmark

Fearless defender of sivistys? Why the Nordics?

Lauri Tuomi
CEO, the Finnish Life Long Learning Foundation and the official Finnish Year of Sivistys, Suomi

Say Hello!

Vem är du och varför är du här? Alla får chansen att introducera sig i församlingen; 30 sekunder max!

Five short presentations

Education and AI
Speaker TBA

Teens, screens, and well-being
Speaker TBA

Lärarrollen och en ny generation av lärare
Speaker TBA

fotograf Geir Dokken, Første Steg

Likhet, ulikhet og pedagogikk

Anne Greve, Professor i barnehagepedagogikk (NO)

Klimat, hållbarhet och gamla läroplaner
Speaker TBA

Diskussion


14:30-15:00 Fika


15:00-17:30 Keynotes

Three TED talk-style presentations that will leave us with plenty of time for discussion:

Lene Rachel Andersen (DK)
The Nordic Secret 2.0: Why bildung matters

We’re facing a polycrisis of AI, climate change, mass-extinction of species, major structural changes in society, gang shootings, and more. But there is hope! 150 years ago, folk-bildning transformed the Nordics, and we need to learn from that. As educators, we need to step up to the challenges of our time and re-imagine the Nordic secret 2.0.

Sturla Bjerkaker (NO)
Bildung when the planet is fundamentally changing

What kind of bildung do we need in a very different world? What do the students need and what does society need from us? Is more science the way to go or might there be an extra path?

Glenn Erik Haugland (NO)
What to make of bildung, art, education, and democracy — here and in the US?

The world needs bildung. What could the Nordics do? Or should we just stay out of geopolitics?


18:00-19:00 Light dinner


19:00-20:00 Fireside chat and debate

Bring a glass of wine or a beer to this session about Frontlines and dilemmas in today’s discussion about dannelse / bildning / bildung

Stefan Hermann (DK)
Administrerende Direktør i Life Fonden, rektor på Københavns Professionshøjskole 2008-23 og en skarp stemme i den danske debat om dannelse

Speaker TBA)


20:00-23:00 Evening Bildungtainment

Bring another glass of wine or a beer to this session which will include fællessang, hygge og en godnathistorie


Program Friday, 7 mars


8:30-9:00 Morning Assembly

Bring your coffee and start the day with a song and:

Nogle ord om Nordiska Folkhögskolan fra højskoleforstander Jonatan Rask (SE)

Bildung in Nordic Education; update from the survey about the perceived status of bildung in the Nordics.
Kim Hjerrild (DK)


9:00-10:00 Parallel Group Discussions I

Rum 1

Vilken bildning behövs om vi ska stoppa rekryteringen till kriminella gäng?

Speaker TBA

Johan Söderman (SE)

Rum 2

Bildung, eco-bildung and eco-social bildung – Young views on education for climate action, and Finnish views on Eco-social Sivistys

Regeneration 2030 (Åland)

Henrika Nordin, Verksamhetsledare, Bildningsalliansen (FI)

Rum 3

Bildung across sectors: Hur kan vi samarbeta kring bildning från vagga till grav?

Björn Wallén (FI)


10:00-10:20 Fika


10:20-11:20 Parallel Group Discussions II

Rum 1

The pedagogics of ‘Folkbildung’ in primary and secondary schools

Louis Mogensen (DK)

Rum 2

Salt, surdeg eller en sten i skon?
Har vi den folkbildning som behövs under 2000-talet?

Lene Rachel Andersen (DK)

Kim Hjerrild (DK)

Rum 3

How to communicate about and grow the Nordic Bildung network

Ludvig Claeson (NO)


11:20-11:40 Fika


11:40-12:30 Results from the group discussions

Hovedkonklusionerne fra de seks diskussioner


12:30-13:30 Lunch


13:30-15:00 Concluding Session & Constituent assembly of the Nordic Bildung Network

Discussion of the next steps and a decision about how to organize the Nordic Bildung Network and what kind of activities to have in the Nordiskt Sivistys Netverkid in the coming year.


Nordiska Folkhögskolan, food and accommodations

Skolan grundades i 1947. Bakgrunden var en tid med krig, totalitära regimer och stängda gränser i Norden och Europa. Nu ville man skapa en samnordisk folkhögskola öppen för alla unga människor i Norden.

Läs mera här: https://nordiska.fhsk.se/om-skolan/

Skolen ligger i historiske omgivelser og naturskønt på toppen af klipperne med udsigt til Bohus Fæstningen.

Alle værelser ifm. konferencen har eget bad og toilet, skolen serverer lækker mad, og der er altid veganske og vegetariske muligheder til måltiderne.

Nordiska folkhögskolan
Olof Palmes väg 1
442 31 Kungälv

Please send us an note if you need vegan or vegetarian foold or have other special dietary requirements:

Please write us if you have any questions regarding the conference.

Nordiska Folkhögskolan is close to the freeway, and by public transportationi there is a direct bus 4X from Gothenburg main station.