Learning for a better future: Perspectives on higher education, cities, business and civil society - Marius Venter and Suzanne Hattingh

The Centre for Local Economic Development at the University of Johannesburg, the host of PASCAL Africa has published papers from 14th PASCAL International Conference held in Pretoria in 2017under the title, Learning for a Better Future - Perspectives on Higher Education, Cities, Business and Civil Society. The book, edited by Marius Venter and Suzanne Hattingh, provides perspectives on a range of subjects relevant to the role of learning in progressing towards a better , sustainable future across higher education, cities, business and civil society in a context of turbulent change.

The distinctive value of the book lies in the dual perspectives it brings across South African social, economic, and cultural development and the “big picture” international issues it takes up, relevant to a just, sustainable future. There are themes in the book that have flowed across PASCAL work since Pretoria, and which are relevant to the UNESCO Commission which will shortly report on Futures of Education.

The origins of the book lay in a 2016 OECD publication, entitled Trends Shaping Education 2016 which provided an overview of global shifts that required innovative educational responses. Chapters in the book responded to these questions from both South African and international perspectives providing for some symbiotic relationships between these objectives.

The book is available with open access arrangements, and has considerable value as a step in rethinking education and learning throughout life in a particular African context shaped by mega international shifts. While the Pretoria conference took place before the COVID-19 pandemic, the issues and ideas in the book have provided a platform for subsequent PASCAL work in rethinking education and learning, and repay a careful reading. The editing of the book is excellent so that the book is a source of much useful information.