Our Vision

Fora ( | ˈfôrə | ) – plural of forum ( | ˈfôrəm | noun ) in an ancient Roman city, a public square or marketplace; a place, meeting, or medium where ideas and views on a particular issue can be exchanged

In Ancient Rome, a forum was a public place in which all people could gather to exchange goods, services, ideas; and participate in all other manner of social and civic engagement and assembly. Its design was based upon the Ancient Greek agora, but similar public spaces can be observed in many cultures around the world such as the alun-alun in Indonesia, for example. Fora were often linked to other civic structures such as places of worship, government, entertainment, and education.

At Fora, we believe in the value of education as a public meeting place, as an exchange of ideas and views, and as an integrated public institution. We use the plural of forum so as to represent a multitude of voices and locales.

Education is an ancient human activity that makes us who we are. Without passing on knowledge and skills to younger generations, we would have never progressed. Without learning to communicate and think abstractly, we would have certainly not flourished as a species.

As a formalization of education, schools have existed for thousands of years, but only relatively recently has schooling become nearly universal and ubiquitous. Because of this drastic change in the place of schools in society, education is now more important than ever as a public social institution.

We believe that schools can be great instruments of social value and change. How schools are designed, managed, and implemented makes a significant difference to society, let alone to the lives of children. As such, schools must be places of civic virtue, pioneering a sustainable and inclusive future. Instead of anxiety, segregation, zero-sum competitiveness, and authoritarian rigidity; schools can be places of joy, creativity, innovation, belonging, and empowerment.

Our work is to promote education as a force for positive societal values. We do this through research, technical support, training, and related goods and services. Fora engages with teachers, principals, NGOs, policy-makers, and international agencies alike. Our work also engages at a global level, but always with respect and understanding to local worlds as well.