The sixth international conference of the Academic Network on Global Education and Learning (ANGEL) was held September 10-11 at the University of Bologna, Italy, bringing together more than 200 researchers, practitioners, and policymakers from 37 countries across five continents. It was organized in partnership with the University of Bologna, the Global Education Network Europe, and the UCL Institute of Education.
A parallel symposium shared findings from the volume Education for Sustainable Futures: Global Citizenship and the Earth Charter (Bourn, Sharma, and Vilela 2025), which examines the Earth Charter and the SDGs as global ethical frameworks. The panelists, all contributors to the book, drew on its section on Value-Creating Education, inspired by Soka (value-creating) progenitor Daisaku Ikeda, a long-time Earth Charter advocate.
The session was chaired by Dr. Namrata Sharma of the State University of New York, with Dr. Magdalena Kuleta-Hulboj of the University of Warsaw as respondent. Presentations by Dr. Ana Belén García Varela of the University of Alcalá, Spain; Dr. Hiroko Tomioka and Dr. Michiyo Kakegawa of Soka University, Japan; and Dr. Sharma highlighted practices connecting value-creating education, the Earth Charter, and the SDGs across diverse educational contexts and formal and non-formal learning spaces.
Overall, the symposium showed how the volume’s ideas are shaping curriculum, pedagogy, and community engagement, while highlighting the continuing relevance of the Earth Charter to education for sustainable futures. Readers are encouraged to explore the full volume.
