Welcome to the FIRE project – The Forum for the International Renewal of
Education. We are a group of educators and social activists who aim to create a
global network of change-makers in the most important field of work today;
education. Our vision is to establish a movement of FIRE hubs around the
world and, through dialogue and collaboration based initially on the following
document, we aim to re-vitalise teacher training and to encourage schools to
develop holistic approaches to their work with young people.
Gaining the support of educational authorities to assist in these changes, we
aim to increase the autonomy of teachers, allowing for individual exploration
of creative ways forward in a fast changing social and economic landscape.
We hope that you find the ideas presented by our Forum encouraging and
inspiring.
GET TO KNOW US
Krzysztof Zajaczkowski has been a passionate educator for 35 years and has given talks in Taiwan, Mexico, New Zealand, Poland and in the UK.
He was the Head of Education at Drumduan School in Scotland and in 2015 was invited to an audience with HM the Queen for his contribution to innovation in the field of education. Articles on his work have been published internationally.
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Lech Mankiewicz is a physicist, astrophysicist, the director of the Centre for Theoretical Physics at the Polish Academy of Science in Warsaw, an advocate for digital education and a supporter of the Khan Academy in Poland.
Agata Hofman is the director of an alternative school and preschool in Gdańsk. She is the initiator of the Polish Academy of Kids, the first global university run by children for 6000 kids in 3 countries. She is the mum of 5 children.
Ross Hall is founder of the Global Change Leaders. Based in London, he is directing Ashoka’s education strategy – both aiming to create learning ecosystems in which every young person is empowered as a change maker
Before Ashoka, Ross designed the Better World Programme that equips young
people to be well and do well
Leonie Burton has worked for 21 years at Playwork Partnerships at the University of Gloucestershire as the Development Manager. Leonie manages a small Playwork Partnerships team responsible for the development and delivery of playwork education and training opportunities across the UK and Europe.
Csilla Fuszek worked for over 15 years as a teacher in secondary and higher education in Hungary. Since 2000 she has specialized in the field of gifted and talented education. She was managing director of several nationwide talent development programs while working as a lecturer at Eötvös Loránd University. She is the coordinator of the European Talent Support Network.
Ruth Bar-Sinai has been a lecturer for 44 years at the David Yellin Academic College of Education in Jerusalem, Israel.
Ruth specializes in Multi-Identity and Multi-Cultural groups' dialogue and in Movement and Physical Education. The combination of training future teachers and teaching children gives her wide experience in, and a panoramic view of, the field of Education.
As the international programs coordinator of the David Yellin College, Ruth organizes meetings between mixed groups of Arabic and Jewish students with foreign Education students from various countries.
She also organizes and leads lecturer's Education seminars and conferences in different countries, such as Finland and Mexico, and gives workshops and lectures at conferences and in teacher's training around the world.
Ruth holds a bachelor’s degree in Physical Education as well as a bachelor’s degree in Dance and Movement. She also has a Master degree in Philosophy (Master’s thesis entitled “Body and Soul”).
Paul Schober is Management Director of Hafelekar Consultancy in Austria, Chairman of the Society for Social Research and Education and lecturer at University level. He holds a PHD in Economics and a post graduated academic certificate in education management. He is also a practitioner in Playwork and worked for more than 10 years as a volunteer in a Montessori School. He is an expert in Innovation, Knowledge and Change Management and currently involved in various European educational initiatives.
Arjav Parikh is passionate about encouraging the love of science in its most raw form. He began teaching science through toys in slums around India and gradually started delivering workshops for students in various schools for Intel Education India (12 to 15,000 children in two years ). He has an interest and experience in the development of maker-spaces which foster design and innovation among children.
OUR MISSION
Leading children into the future
FIRE are working towards creating a learning environment with a
broader, multidimensional, empathic, and holistic approach. Formed in
2017, our forum has members from Austria, Poland, Israel, the Czech
Republic, Hungary, Scotland, England, and India. Our goal is to find
global ways of educating children for future society, emphasizing 21st-
century skills, values and human capacities ; empathy, adaptability,
resilience, compassion, mental health and a sense of integrity. In
fact, ideas to improve the industrial model of education appeared
more than a century ago, so they are by no means new. What is really
new are the economical and social developments which make it
necessary to transform the industrial model in directions proposed by
these early pioneers. We are aware of thousands of educators,
teachers, and institutions which have already implemented these
ideas. This is where our broad river takes its many sources.
To this end, we respect all initiatives looking for fresh solutions in
education and we do not promote any particular approach. It is our view
that the time has come to see all these new initiatives come together
as the mainstream of education.