UNESCO: Digital Learning Week 2026
Professor Chrissi Nerantzi, School of Education, recently represented the University at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris. Here, she reflects on her experience and highlights key insights from her visit.
From the 8-11 September 2026, I participated in the Digital Learning Week 2026 at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris. Bringing together educators, researchers, policymakers, ministers, technology experts and practitioners from around the world, the event explored the theme "Education in the age of AI: Facts | Frictions | Frontiers". Discussions focused on the opportunities and challenges emerging from the growing influence of artificial intelligence in education, while also addressing broader questions of equity, governance, assessment, openness, digital sovereignty, and the future of learning. I was particularly interested in discussions linked to UNESCO's Open Solutions programme and the new series of publications coordinated through the OER Dynamic Coalition, including a brief by Dr Javiera Atenas “The right to know: open knowledge ecosystems and AI” exploring what openness might mean in the age of AI. We are very much looking forward to inviting Javiera to share with us her thinking in a future Knowledge Equity Network event. It was also a pleasure to meet A/Prof Emmanuel Blanchard again and doctoral researcher Imran Sharif Afizullah Khan from Le Mans University and hear more about their work around Climate Education through adaptive learning technologies. Our conversations highlighted opportunities to explore connections between postgraduate researchers at Le Mans University and the School of Education at the University of Leeds.
For the Imaginative Curriculum Centre for Research and Scholarship, the event provided a valuable opportunity to engage with colleagues from different parts of the world, strengthen existing relationships and begin new conversations around potential collaborations and projects. Throughout the week, connections emerged around openness, AI in education, educational futures, assessment, student partnership and global research initiatives. These conversations highlighted opportunities for future collaboration across institutions, networks and countries, and reinforced the importance of working collectively to address some of the most pressing questions in education.
I also participated in a workshop on reimagining assessment in the age of AI facilitated by my colleagues Professor Sarah Howard, Professor Jason Lodge and Professor Jo Tondeur. The hands-on session invited participants to explore collaboratively how assessment might evolve in response to the growing use of AI, focusing on questions of trust, evidence of learning and future-oriented approaches to assessment design.
My takeaway from Paris is the importance of keeping humans at the heart of education. Across discussions on AI, openness, governance, assessment and innovation, relationships emerged as a recurring theme. Learning is shaped through dialogue, trust, participation and shared experiences. Relational pedagogies and relational practices matter because they create the conditions in which learners can grow, question, create and contribute. I was also struck by the emphasis on collaborative and social learning. Again and again, conversations highlighted the value of learning with others, drawing on collective knowledge, and engaging in communities of inquiry and practice. Whether discussing classrooms, research networks, UNESCO Chairs or international partnerships, the message was remarkably consistent: learning flourishes through connection.
Educational futures are built through people and relationships. As technologies continue to evolve, our attention to dialogue, collaboration, community and human connection becomes even more important.
I am looking forward to exploring opportunities for collaboration through the ICC and continuing conversations that began in Paris.
What made this event particularly special for me were the people, the conversations and the sense of shared purpose.
Thank you Javiera, Leo, Nicolas, Emmanuel, Anne-Marie, Beck, Rob, Marisol, Fabrian, Fawzi, Liandi, Maya, Lorna, and many others. I am also grateful to the School of Education for supporting my participation.
View from the UNESCO building, 7th floor
Chrissi Nerantzi leads the Imaginative Curriculum research Centre, find out more about this centre here.
