Speakers

Nadia Raphael Rathje has worked with education for sustainable development for many years. She was a co-founder and principal at Den Grønne Friskole in Copenhagen, a school built on the ambition to develop pedagogical and didactic approaches that support the green transition. Today, she is a researcher in the field and has completed a PhD on green school development, with a particular focus on whole-school approaches. This approach emphasizes collaboration both within and beyond the educational institution, enabling students to gain hands-on experience and a deeper understanding of sustainability.

Alasdair Skelton is Professor of Geochemistry and Petrology at Stockholm University.  His published works are on geology, earthquakes, volcanism, tsunamis, climate of the past and the ongoing climate crisis. He has educated tens of thousands of students at all levels from kindergarten to university, as well as a wide range of public audiences, about geology and climate. He is co-founder of the civil society organisation Researcher’s Desk. He is author of Our Time – Finding Hope in A Climate Crisis (2026). Photo: Caroline Falkman

Professor Daniella Tilbury is a globally recognised higher-education leader, policy expert, and changemaker whose career has focused on enabling systemic transformation across universities and higher-education systems worldwide. Drawing on extensive experience as a vice-chancellor, rector, dean, research director, and international adviser, she has led major higher-education programmes, whole-institution transformation initiatives, and evidence-based policy and research projects shaping practice across more than 40 countries. She was the inaugural Rector and CEO of the University of Gibraltar and has held senior academic leadership roles in Australia, the UK, and Hong Kong, including serving as the UK’s first Dean of Sustainability. Tilbury holds a PhD from the University of Cambridge (1993), the first globally to address sustainability in higher education. Her research and leadership have shaped policy and practice in over 40 countries, and she has chaired UN committees and led UNESCO initiatives on education for sustainable development. She currently represents the UK Government at UNECE and is an Honorary Fellow of St Catharine’s College, Cambridge.

Arjen Wals is a Professor of Transformative Learning for Socio-Ecological Sustainability at Wageningen University where he also holds the UNESCO Chair of Social Learning and Sustainable Development. He obtained his PhD from the University of Michigan (1991). Wals also holds an Honorary Doctorate from the University of Gothenburg. Much of his research focusses on the development of Whole Institution Approaches to sustainability. Nationally and internationally, he has been and continues to be a persistent advocate for education, learning and capacity-building for sustainability, nature-connectedness and global citizenship in all levels of education.

Alexander Refsum Jensenius is a music researcher and research musician. He is Professor of music technology at the University of Oslo, where he is also Director of RITMO Centre for Interdisciplinary Studies in Rhythm, Time and Motion and the fourMs Lab. He is now also in the process of establishing MishMash Centre for AI and Creativity, a large consortium comprising 200+ researchers across Norway, in collaboration with both public and private institutions. He received a multi-disciplinary bachelor’s degree in music and mathematics and a master’s in musicology from the University of Oslo. He then completed a master’s in applied information technology at the Chalmers University of Technology before pursuing a PhD in music technology at the University of Oslo.