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INTRODUCTION

The Thirty First Gordon Cook Conversations took place at , by kind permission of His Royal Highness The , of . The welcoming environment of the fine House with its wonderful furnishings and the beautiful gardens proved an excellent back-drop to The Conversations and directly inspired at least one of the Reports printed here. The various initiatives which His Royal Highness has undertaken around the Estate, many creating new opportunities for the people of the deprived local communities, are very much in the spirit of the Conversations. I am also very grateful to our facilitators and to our two speakers, Sir Sebastian Roberts and Professor Paul Brown.

We met at a time when the was in the early stages of a Referendum to decide whether or not to remain in the European Union. Elections to the were less than a month away, and The Scottish National Party was expected to do well again. In another part of the United Kingdom, the Port Talbot steelworks in Wales were threatened with closure by their Indian owner, and a major campaign was under way to see if thousands of jobs could be saved.

Further afield, the turmoil in the Middle East continued. The so-called Islamic State was under attack from a variety of forces in Syria and Iraq. A brief ceasefire in the years-old Syrian civil war seemed to be on the point of collapse. A few months earlier, the Russian military had intervened on the side of President Assad. The refugee crisis provoked by the Middle East conflicts, and earlier wars in Iraq and Afghanistan continued; there were almost daily heart-wrenching scenes of desperate migrants attempting to reach Europe in overcrowded boats. Those who had already reached European shores continued their desperate attempts to get through borders in Greece and the Balkans in order to reach more prosperous countries further north.

In the USA, the political establishment was beginning to reconcile itself to the maverick property tycoon Donald Trump becoming the Republican Presidential Candidate, and going head-to-head with Democrat Hilary Clinton later in the year.

In Brazil, there were moves to impeach the President shortly before the country hosts the Olympic Games. The Pope published a 60,000 word document, Amoris Laetitia, demanding greater tolerance towards the divorced, remarried and to homosexuals. Meanwhile The Archbishop of Canterbury disclosed that following a DNA test, it had been shown that his father was Churchill's last Private Secretary.

Also, during our week together, HM The Queen celebrated her ninetieth birthday, and we toasted her health in champagne donated by Dumfries House. All of us who joined the Conversations wish to express our thanks to our sponsors: The Gordon Cook Foundation, Scottish Enterprise, Highlands and Islands Enterprise and Lansdowne Partners. These special opportunities are entirely due to their generosity.

Matthew Butler, Acton Turville, May 2016 2

GROUP ONE

Starting from a blank sheet of paper, the group identified its hopes and fears for 10 years hence. Casting the net wide, the list quickly grew and two characteristics emerged.

1. Each hope or fear is a two-sided coin. One face represents an opportunity to enrich society, the other a risk of diminishing societal advances, or even regression. For example:  An aging population places an ever-increasing financial burden on the youth as a larger proportion of the population draws pensions or requires long-term medical treatments. This older generation are, however, able to share a lifetime of learned wisdom and provide guidance for the emerging generations.  Rapidly advancing technology is seen as invasive, detrimental to direct personal relationships, and an enabler for transgressions such as cyber bullying or cybercrime. It can also bring together disparate communities, provide access to vast amounts of information, and allow people to travel and directly experience foreign cultures and customs.  Immigration is an emotive issue. As the non-indigenous population increases, pressure on public services could increase which would lead to tensions. This may push people further toward political extremes. Immigration is a source of new talent and diversity.

2. All hopes are catalysed and fears tempered by tolerant relationships. Open and tolerant relationships lead to a shared understanding of today‘s problems both within social groups and between them. A virtuous circle where ―understanding‖ promotes tolerance, which in turn creates the environment in which to learn and share knowledge  Intergenerational contact is vital for the effective sharing of knowledge  Technology employed by tolerant and open communities is less likely to be used deliberately for the harm of a person or the society 3

 Understanding the benefits of diversity for society will aid the integration of immigrant communities The group discussed options for improving tolerant relationships, and concluded that the foundation for such a change is to provide effective and rounded education. Although it was agreed that education is an ongoing process which occurs in many places and at many stages of life, the group chose to focus on a school educational setting as the most effective intervention point.

It was agreed the testing of students would continue to be a necessary part of their formal education; however, testing alone will not produce the rounded young adults needed for society‘s collective prosperity. A child‘s experience of education is just as important as his or her ability to pass tests: the group discussed research, conducted by The Literacy Trust, which found that reading for pleasure during childhood is the single most important indicator for future success.

Having identified the school system as the chief subject of discussion, the group organised its hopes for the future around a single question:

What should education look like in 10 years?

The group proposed that by 2026, schools should:

 Employ fabulous teachers who are held in high regard both within and outside the school  Ensure pupils‘ literacy is in line with age expectations  Focus on learning over tests  Institute accountability measures which focus on the child‘s destination, be it work or further education  Expose pupils to inspirational examples and role models from all walks of life, be they figures from the local community or astronauts broadcasting from space  Make use of teaching practices informed by research and best practice, incorporating good ideas from other professions (consult airport staff on speeding up the lunch queue)  Promote cultural enrichment and help children be inspired by ideas, rather than simply accumulating knowledge  Engage with all members of the school community – parents, older generations, community groups  Encourage children to act as school ambassadors (e.g. by inviting guest speakers)  Find pupil-centred ways of measuring achievement: talent management rather than performance assessment  Reconfigure their relationship with higher/further education—make children aware from an early age of the paths available to them  Use technology to promote an ethos of ‗education without walls‘ How is this to be achieved?

The group acknowledged evidence that literacy skills were inadequate, and that many students achieve a reading age of below their actual age. There should be a spotlight on literacy aiming to give all students the opportunity to read for pleasure. This is a quick win, but would be a continuous engagement lasting throughout the school year. It would include: 4

 Organising book banks for the use of students - encouraging people to donate their books as they clear out houses  Book amnesties  Reading partnerships with local organisations to develop reading skills In order to support good teaching, it is necessary to give support to teachers. An award scheme for excellence in teaching will recognise and reward great teachers for their efforts and achievements. A formalised teacher mentoring or ‗buddy‘ system will be established to support teachers as they develop their skills. Potentially the ‗buddies‘ could come from outside the education sector, ensuring that good ideas from the business world can make their way into schools, and vice versa. In recognition that students learn at different rates and respond best to different teaching methods, peer-to-peer teaching will be used to encourage the students to share knowledge.

The group felt the need for a national network for organisations to support schools in providing additional learning experiences over and above the traditional curriculum. Consisting of a technology platform and administrative support, the network would help local ambassadors and the wider business world to connect with schools; the leader of the local council could come and talk about events in the area, for example, or a lawyer come and talk about potential careers in the law. The school would be responsible for clearing time in the schedule for the additional experiences, thereby minimising the impact on teacher time and the school calendar.

Alongside this national network, children should also be given a hand in making contact with the world outside the school. They should be empowered to represent the school in the search for support from the local community (for example, when seeking local business sponsorships) and in events at a regional and national level, from charity fundraising to competitive sport and debating.

A short-termist focus on yearly results means that schools, mindful of government sanctions and a hostile press, only teach children how to pass tests. Attainment should continue to be measured, but in a manner geared more to helping children learn than to the assessment of the school itself. School performance should be judged on a wider set of criteria, such as how well the students progress over a number of years.

A child‘s education does not end after they leave school. Destinations teams would support students over their early years of a career or in further education to monitor their performance and ensure the student makes a successful transition from the highly structured environment of secondary education to the challenges of college or the workplace.

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GROUP TWO:

The precious few days of the Gordon Cook Conversations was a privileged encounter with diverse and inspiring people which helped shine a little light on the big picture, too often eclipsed by busy working and personal lives.

As individuals we would typically focus on areas of specialisation and interest, but within hours of tackling the first ‗Conversations‘ question, we went big. Our discussions covered many topics including , terrorism, sustainability, health care and population growth. A strong underpinning theme emerged – education. Despite the many varied fields of expertise, professions and backgrounds listed against the names of our Conversation attendees, it was obvious that good education was our enabler for success. Something we possibly now take for granted, but which formed a common thread amongst our responses to the last Conversation question – what could we, our place of business and society do better.

We came into the Conversations as diverse folk and our own hopes and fears proved to be just as diverse, however a few of our favourite group learnings included:

 Take time to reflect. Make the effort, take the time, make sure you think about what you have done, what you‘re doing, and what you want to do.  Ensure you take the time to put things in perspective.  Don’t wait for the senior leaders to make that decision. Be proactive and just get on with it. Yes, this statement comes with caveats, but nonetheless, get on with it!  Education underpins everything. Proactively seek to continue education for yourself, your family, and your peers/colleagues. Never stop learning.  Be realistic and be adaptable. Think about when to act, when to get out of the way.  Use common sense  Good people are more important than good policy and good systems  Build relationships. You will need to rely on others to achieve your objectives.  Pilot and trial new things as much as you can

Each of us had our own hopes and fears for the next 10 years and ideas for how to realise the hopes and allay the fears; here‘s a flavour of them, each illustrated by a symbol of the wonderful location in which we were lucky enough to spend time:

The Pink Dining Room Chandelier – This chandelier symbolised a hopeful perspective on the world where we are all seen to be of high value. A world where all human beings respect each other‘s values and are able to live together peacefully. We can create this world together by being inclusive of people from all generations. The pink in the chandelier symbolises the greater value that should especially be placed on women at a societal level. The flowers in the chandelier represent the freedom to grow and be free thinking which is needed for this hope to be realised.

HRH Prince of Wales’s Coat of Arms - To illustrate the issue of ―conscious organisation design‖ reference was drawn from HRH Prince of Wales Coat of Arms prominent in Dumfries House. The story goes that the lion (personality) and the mythical Unicorn (soul or human 6

spirit) were engaged in a fierce battle. The lion was stronger and won. The unicorn (also representing the intuitive and female qualities) is shown as being chained in bondage; by this ancient archetypal pattern of rulership. There was a fear that both the female and soul qualities remain in bondage; and a hope that we begin to release through wise & conscious design of organisations across the world.

Dumfries House and its Contents - The story goes that Dumfries House was originally built in order that Lord Dumfries would be able to attract a young wife to provide him with heirs. The house therefore symbolises the role of women in society and the fear that they continue to be limited in their value around the world by lack of access to education, healthcare and finance. It is to be hoped that by taking individual actions in how we educate girls or how employers treat females hoping to progress in the workforce that we will precipitate greater societal change in the evolving role of women and girls across the world.

Training Centre at Dumfries House - Dumfries House brings trades and education to many of the young people from the surrounding area. This is a symbol of hope for aspirations around social mobility. Conversely there is a fear that lifetime outcomes will continue to be determined by the circumstances into which you are born. Whilst total equality is not achievable, greater equality and social mobility is. It was felt that social mobility could be encouraged by the offering of internships to young people from disadvantaged backgrounds rather than preferentially to those young people with good social connections. Additionally efforts at an organisational level to divert young people away from organised crime and into work or education would be impactful. Lastly societal impact on social mobility has to be part of the political agenda and there is hope that we at least continue to get political attention and a battle of ideas in this area.

The Library at Dumfries House - The library in Dumfries House was the place where we, as a group, shared our experiences, reflections and knowledge to effectively work together. The library was full of intellectual ―treasure‖ and our hope was that the "national treasure" of the NHS will be sustained, and continued to be invested in, to be able to adequately cope with an ageing population across the UK. The fear was that it will not, and that as our nation‘s demographics change, the NHS will not be equipped to deal with the needs of society as it grows older. The library has been a place of collaboration and future efforts to aid the continuation of the NHS will require various bodies to effectively collaborate to make a real difference, by joining forces and working together we will get the best for society.

A Chippendale Table - A Chippendale dining table symbolises a place where people can gather around and relationships develop. One of our group noted that the church has a significant, if often hidden role, in realising hopes and allaying fears in many of the themes we discussed. In different ways the church can continue to offer this - a safe confidential place for people and communities to come together for a wide variety of reasons that all build relationships: for celebration, planning, dialogue, thanksgiving or reconciliation on a local regional and national level . As we have seen here, where people gather things happen.

In conclusion we learned that having the space for discourse was vital. A space that was tolerant and accepting of others whilst challenging and stimulating and perhaps most importantly, was sunny and had delicious homemade biscuits. 7

GROUP THREE: Black Box Thinking in Dumfries

Intro: In April 2016 we were truly blessed to be offered the freedom to spend three glorious (weather as well) days together as part of the 31st Gordon Cook conversations masticating over the two part questions:

 What were our ―hopes and fears‖ for the future (10 years considered)  What were our personal, Organisational and Society actions for realising these

Below you will find the salient points gathered from Group 3 (added with cognitive dissonance). Our biggest take-away being that we were (as our own community ‗powered by hope‘)

Paul Williams – Stockton-on-Tees GP - One of my hopes for the future is that in an increasingly digital world we remember people. There is a danger that we communicate with each other too often from behind a computer screen. I‘m going to ensure that in my personal life and in my work I take the time to prioritise person to person contact. I‘ll call people up on the phone and walk or cycle to see people face to face instead of relying on emails.

I hope that in the future we can use public spending to increase social capital, rather than just do things ―to‖ people. In the Social Care system this would mean helping the formation of local social enterprises owned and run by local people to provide services like home care to the elderly and vulnerable. Enabling communities to provide care to their own in this way keeps resources local and builds the sense of community spirit

Nandini Oomman – Global Health leader – Washington DC USA: I'm hopeful that the inter-generational divide can be minimized so that leaders of different generations inspire each other. While this is important for all leaders, men and women, I would like to focus my energy on bridging the gap between women leaders from different generations. At a personal level, I will do this with my daughter and son and other young people around me, inspiring them to imagine the world they can shape and being inspired by them. At a more systematic level, my project The Women's Storytelling Salon™ is a platform that brings together women of all generations, to inspire each other and trigger conversations and action. I created the Salon in Hanoi (with a co-curating founder) and in Washington, DC and now, women around the world are showing an interest in creating this platform in their own cities. This organically growing movement will shape communities and societies through inspired leaders of all generations.

Neill Whiteside – Senior Police Office () - This was an incredible course and a unique chance to step out of the daily routine and almost have an out of body experience and a chance to reflect on the type of leader I currently am, and the stronger greater leader I wish to become. One of the great benefits of this course was bringing together people from all different organisations to share best thinking and experiences. It was reassuring to see other leaders facing common challenges but also challenging to see others rising above those challenges and meeting them head on in a variety of creative and inspiring ways.

This was no ordinary course, this is a serious heavyweight, hard hitting, personally- challenging course which goes right to the root of the individual asking them what they stand for, what they believe, what they value and then asks them to climb out of the experience stronger and more ready to take on their world. 8

This course should serve as a watershed moment in the careers and lives of leaders with future potential, like a mid-career double-espresso, inspiring immediate actions and positive changes back at the day job. The best course I have ever been on, an honest true privilege.

Caleb Deeks – Senior Treasury Advisor (London) – (I hope) to lead changes in my organisation, starting with myself and my team, to give people more time - time for reflection, for family and for focusing on important long term issues. I‘ll support this through, amongst other things, encouraging better ways of working. The conversations also reminded me about how much I care about many of the issues we discussed and I have resolved to do more in my personal as well as my professional life to contribute to making the world a better place.

Laura Carr (CAO Castle Water) - ―My hope for the future is that, as a society we would be more open to creative thinking around roles and gender and that we would have an increased awareness and empathy for each other‘s values. I would like to encourage a community of openness within our organisation where employees feel free to express their ideas and opinions and do not feel restrained or restricted especially by gender stereotypes. I would also like to reach out to our local community especially schools and colleges to build relationships with young people who may be interested in business and give them the opportunity to take part in apprenticeships.‖

Mallory Horrell – Benjamin Franklin Museum - Technological advancement is a wonderful thing, without it we would literally not be where we are today, for we can follow advancements as far back as the discovery of fire and the creation of the wheel. Present day technological advancements accommodate and allow for so many hopes that my group has discussed, such as the internet making education more accessible on a global scale. While I see and understand the value in many of these wonderful advancements it is my hope that older technologies are not retired for newer models and that we sometimes choose a simpler way of life. I see this as being accomplished on a personal level through enacting simple changes like setting aside time in a day to be device free. On a community level this can be realized in exercises like community gardens. This aspiration can be seen on the societal level through larger movements such as GMO awareness. Technology is an important tool in out toolkit, which I think and hope should be utilized in conjunction with other tools. For if we put aside older tools that served us well we lose important skills and values. I don‘t think that many years from now we want to look back and see that the skill and joys of face to face human interaction has been lost because we cast aside the practice with the proliferation of technology. I think that it is important for us to be able to use a wide array of skills and tools, remembering that the newest models are not always the best.

David Bone – Steward @ Xoomworks Borderless Tech – ―Advice for future GCC – add Green Tea. My hope is that all of the deviant conversation that swilled around the edges of the GCC become actions – namely ―disruption will aid fluidity‖. Personally I will support my educational guru friend Jamie Currey – I will reach out to #GC31 friends to #effectchange – I will become a leader in ways I feel I can. Organisationally I believe in the #borderless and #nutrionalbenefitforall approach to reinventing ourselves

Group 3 Summary:

We were passionate about value of Cathedral thinking but what we have shared with you are our commitments to personal/organisational change that ―if‖ followed through and inspire others will be the footprint to the community spirited society changes that will ‗realise our hopes‘