ISLAMABAD-The sixteenth edition of School of Tomorrow (SOT) Events, Guardians of the Future: Shaping Tomorrow with Generative AI, was launched at the Pakistan National Council of the Arts (PNCA) in Islamabad. Organised by Beaconhouse, Pakistan’s largest network of educational institutions, the future-oriented three-day event is scheduled to continue until Monday, 6th November.
Throughout its 23 years, SOT Events has discussed the future of humanity and advocated for the rights of children and young people to be guardians of the future: the next generations of mentors and leaders within their communities, nations and the world. This year’s event retains this focus while exploring the increasing role of generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) in shaping our world going forward. An exciting feature of the SOT this time is the inclusion of AI Avatars as panellists.
Day 1 of the SOT included diverse discussion topics ranging from the pursuit of peace to the media’s fascination with breaking news, entrepreneurship, sustainability, education, and cyber safety. From the sessions related to Pakistani drama, and fashion, prominent participants were Ali Safina, Mira Sethi, Ali Xeeshan, Vaneeza Ahmad, Roshaneh Zafar, Night Dad, Alyy Khan and Shahbaz Taseer. The event also showcases an immersive art exhibition, Envision E-vision: Chronicles of Tomorrow, curated by Rashid Rana & Risham Syed and presented by Beaconhouse National University’s School of Visual Arts & Design.
With more than 40 thought-provoking sessions over three days, SOT 2023 welcomes over 150 global speakers including Jeffrey Archer, Sean Covey, Wusat Ullah Khan, Munizae Jahangir, Mehmal Sarfraz, Dr Tariq Banuri, Ayesha Chundrigar, Moeed Yusuf, Dr Sohail Naqvi, Amanda Muñoz de Toro, Kamran Lashari, Mohammad Hafeez, and Jose Alonso, amongst many others. Discussions, interviews, debates, workshops, and storytelling cover a wide spectrum of areas, including climate change, technology, art, education, children’s rights, animal rights, healthcare, and more.
Speaking about the event, Kasim Kasuri, Chair SOT Events and CEO Beaconhouse, said, “Through the SOT, we aim to explore what the future actually holds for children, and how to better prepare them for the world they are stepping into. This year our focus is to bring people from diverse areas of expertise together to share their perspectives on how AI can impact the future of humanity, and to see if it can play a part in creating a more peaceful world.”
SOT is a free-to-attend event series that started in 2000 and is organised by Beaconhouse as part of its dedication to corporate social responsibility. SOT conferences have featured over 1,000 thought leaders and changemakers from across the world, including heads of state, prime ministers, heads of major global organisations, and distinguished figures from the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia, Thailand, the UAE, and various other countries. This year’s lead sponsor is Google for Education and Tech Valley, the titanium sponsor is UBL, and the gold sponsors are My BagPack and Emkay Books International.
