Dr Phil Lambert PSM
Dr Phil Lambert is an internationally recognised school education expert. He has extensive experience in education as a principal; inspector; Regional Director (Sydney) and General Manager of the Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority where he led the development of Australia’s first national curriculum.
He has led major reviews and reforms, presented a number of papers and keynotes at national and international conferences, had a number of articles and occasional papers published in journals, and authored three books, the most recent being, ‘The Knowing and Caring Profession’. In 2023 he undertook a major review of Climate Change Education for UNESCO.
Phil has received a number of honours and awards. In the 2012 Queen’s Birthday Honours he was awarded the Public Service Medal for his outstanding contribution to education. In 2013 he was the recipient of the Australian College of Educators’ prestigious award, the Sir Harold Wyndham Medal and in 2020 he was the recipient of the NSW Teachers Guild’s Phyllis Evans Medal.
Phil is Adjunct Professor at the University of Sydney and also Adjunct Professor at Nanjing Normal University, China. He supports education reform efforts globally as expert advisor and researcher. He is a Curriculum Expert to the OECD Education 2030 initiative and has been engaged by education ministries in several countries including Japan, The Netherlands, Qatar, Kazakhstan, the UAE, Brazil, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Lithuania and Vietnam to guide and support their respective reforms. He is a Director on the board of Brazil’s Instituto Reuna, and a member of Singapore’s Marshall Cavendish Education advisory board.
Phil contributes to the community in various ways. He is Chair (previously CEO) of Together For Humanity and the Attorney General’s appointee on the NSW Children’s Court Advisory Committee. He served from 2013-2023 as the inaugural Deputy Chair of Our Watch, the national foundation to prevent violence against women and their children; served for 13 years as a Director on the board of the Australian Children’s Television Foundation and has been providing expert education advice to the NRL (National Rugby League) for its Inspire: Respect; Health/Wellbeing; Inclusion initiative.
Keynote address
Thriving in a VUCA World: Equipping Young People to Navigate and Shape the Future
Tuesday 9 April 2024 - 2.50pm-3.50pm
The OECD often refers to the world today as VUCA (volatile, unpredictable, complex and ambiguous). As leaders and educators we have a responsibility, albeit shared with others, to equip young people with the set of competencies required to not simply survive but thrive in this VUCA world. In this presentation Dr Lambert will draw on his work with global agencies (OECD, the World Bank and UNESCO), various countries, and schooling systems and sectors to focus on the enabling knowledge, skills and dispositions students need to acquire to shape the future at personal, social, national and global levels.