Working Group 11: Reawakening Consciousness: Pedagogies of Hope and Participatory Learning for Transformative Futures

Coordinator:

In an era marked by ecological collapse, widening inequalities, and the erosion of democratic values, education remains a critical space for collective imagination, solidarity, and transformation. The online working group “Reawakening Consciousness: Pedagogies of Hope and Participatory Learning for Transformative Futures” invites scholars, educators, practitioners, and activists to explore how pedagogical practices grounded in hope, sustainability, and participation can reawaken collective consciousness and nurture transformative futures.

Drawing inspiration from Paulo Freire’s Pedagogy of Hope and intersecting with feminist, decolonial, and Indigenous educational frameworks, this working group seeks to theorize and enact education as a site of critical reflection, resilience, and agency. It particularly welcomes work that bridges theory and praxis through participatory, community-based, and creative methodologies.

Suggested Themes include (but are not limited to):
● Community-based sustainability education and participatory action learning
● Climate pedagogy, ecological literacy, and environmental justice education
● Critical storytelling, art, and performance as consciousness-raising tools
● Decolonial, feminist, and Indigenous approaches to transformative pedagogy
● Transnational pedagogies and global solidarities linking local struggles
● Digital pedagogies, AI-driven learning, and future possibilities
● Pedagogies of care, empathy, and emotional literacy in higher education
● Alternative epistemologies and knowledge systems in postcolonial education
● Education, social justice, and human rights in digital and physical classrooms
● Pedagogical innovation in crisis contexts—conflict, migration, and climate displacement
● Collaborative and experiential learning for community empowerment
● Narratives of resistance, hope, and renewal in educational praxis

Format: All accepted contributions will be presented online in six sessions. The programme also includes six invited guest speakers and six invited session experts.

Accepted presentations

Paper presentations

  • Climate Pedagogy for Transformative Futures: Reawakening Ecological Literacy and Advancing Environmental Justice in Education (Dr. Gyanendra Rawat)
  • Bridging the Digital Divide: A Study on Digital Technology Access among Secondary School Teachers (MOHMAD AMIR KHAN, JAMIA MILLIA ISLAMIA)
  • Extending Concept of Ecocide in Frontier Beyond Earth (Rachita Agrawal, Guru Gobind Singh)
  • Embodied Pedagogies of Hope: Immersive Creative Practice as Transformative Learning in Recovery (Leslie Deere)
  • REVISITING CLIMATE PEDAGOGY, ECOLOGICAL LITERACY, AND ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE EDUCATION THROUGH PAULO FREIRE’S PEDAGOGY OF HOPE : BRIDGING THE THEORY AND PRAXIS THROUGH PARTICIPATORY, COMMUNITY-BASED, AND CREATIVE METHODOLOGIES (Dr. Sachin Tripathi)
  • Scientific Literacy as a Foundation for Green Education in the 21st Century (Ambrin Khanam, Md. Ashique Husain, Prof. Jasim Ahmad)
  • Beyond the Classroom: Community, Climate, and Consciousness in Transformative Education (Dr. Dinesh Sathasivam)
  • Legal Consciousness Through Hope: Transforming Child Sexual Abuse Survivor Support Systems Through Pedagogy of Emotional Justice (Dr. Abhilasha Khare, Dr. Sachin Tripathi)
  • AI-enabled participatory climate Pedagogy: Reawakening hope and ecological consciousness in Pakistani Higher Education (Sana Zaheer Qureshi)
  • Scenario-based Inquiry as Pathway to Transformative Digital Citizenship in Teacher Education (Soumya Panigrahi, Jamia Millia Islamia)
  • Deterritorializing Knowledge Production in International Development Studies: an Ecofeminist Analysis of Educational Practices (Oona Aarrevalta)
  • Reawakening Consciousness Through AI: A Decolonial Pedagogy of Hope for Sustainable Supply Chain Transformation (Viraj P. Tathavadekar, Dr. Nitin R. Mahankale)
  • The Precarious Labour of Academia: Challenging the Myth of Inclusive Development (Dr Rajesh Kumari)
  • Dialectical Immersion and the Reawakening of Critical Consciousness: Nordic Cultural Encounter as Transformative Leadership Learning (Madeleine Shachat)
  • Digital Literacy and Inclusion: Bridging Socio-Economic Divides in the Digital Age (Dr. Aparna Pavani S.)
  • Human–AI Co-Creation as a Pedagogy of Hope: Reimagining Agency, Dialogue, and Transformation in Higher Education (Arun Das V P)
  • Reflection to Transformation: Reimagining Pre-Service Teacher Education through Critical Participatory Action Research (CPAR) (Sukhjit Singh, Pooja Singh, Parul Sood)
  • Building Indigenous AI Pedagogies: Transforming Media Education in Northeast India (Chandramouly Pandey, Prof. Kh. Kabi)
  • From Passive Consumption to Active Co-Creation: Generative AI and Participatory Pedagogies in Higher Education (Vidya Bhegade)
  • AI in Education: A Catalyst for Social Change or a Reinforcer of Inequality (Subhangi)
  • Alternative epistemologies and knowledge systems in postcolonial education: From Indian Perspectives (Pabitra Saha)
  • Silent Suffering: The Impact of Climate Change on Early Marriages, Girls’ Education and Well-being in Rural Sindh, Pakistan. A study aligned with SDG 3 (Good Health and Well-being), SDG 4 (Quality Education), SDG 5 (Gender Equality) and SDG 13 (Climate Action) (Sonia Darshan)
  • Five Key Pedagogies of Care in Early Primary Education: A Study of 50 Students in Bhopal (Paridhi Bansal)
  • Sound movie: reclaiming orality in the digital age for a pedagogy of inclusion and reawakening (Cecilia Vallorani)
  • Reawakening Collective Consciousness through Storytelling and Participatory Pedagogies: An Indo-Iranian Approach to Hope-Centred Learning (Dr. Sougand Akbarian)
  • Storytelling as Decolonial Feminist Pedagogy: Narratives of Resistance and Renewal in the Works of Margaret Atwood, Bapsi Sidhwa, and Manju Kapur (Poonam Mahajan, Dr. Renu Sharma, Dr. Vinod Kumar)
  • Pedagogies of Hope in the Digital-Green Transition: Reclaiming Ethics and Agency in Sustainability Education (Thamburaj Anthuvan)
  • Reawakening Consciousness: Pedagogies of Hope and Participatory Learning for Transformative Futures (Abirlal Mukherjee)

Panel discussions

  • AI for Empowerment: Reimagining Participatory Pedagogies in the Digital Age (Dr. Vignesh Ramamoorthy. H, Dr. Priyadharshini N)
  • Reawakening Ecological Consciousness: Pedagogies of Climate Justice and Sustainable Futures (Dr. Gyanendra Rawat)

Paper presentation and panel

  • Empowering Marginalised Farmers: Lessons from Photovoice and Participatory Policy Dialogues in Tanzania (Susannah M Sallu, Ruth Smith, Jessica Johannsen and Stephen Whitfield)

Registration is now open from 12 January to 15 February 2026. 
The detailed timetable will be published later.

Contact:
Prof. Abirlal Mukherjee
Email: research.abirlal@gmail.com