The Oslo Dialogues on Educational Futures
The Oslo Dialogues on Educational Futures Initiative held by the Dean’s office headed by Ola Erstad at the Faculty of Education at the University of Oslo, and by Julian Sefton-Green, Professor at Deakin University, Melbourne Australia. The initiative offers a series of strategic seminars working with groups of stakeholders to develop policy debate and stimulate framework interventions enshrining core values in Education.
Seminars
Ban on social media for children and young people?
- Experiences, dilemmas and implications
In a growing number of countries, there is now broad political support for introducing bans on social media use among children and adolescents. Australia was among the first to adopt such legislation on 10 December 2025. At the same time, researchers worldwide have raised concerns both about young people’s use of social media and about the potential negative consequences of a ban.
On 27 April 2026, researchers, civil society organisations and decision-makers met to share and clarify research-based knowledge and open questions, and to engage in a critical public conversation about the potential benefits, dilemmas and wider implications of banning social media for young people.
What could such a ban mean for society, for families, for schools and professional practice – and, not least, for children and young people themselves? And what knowledge do we need from Norwegian research communities – now and in the years to come?
Upcoming seminars
About the Dialogue series
The role of education in our society has come under increased scrutiny in recent years and seems likely to remain highly contested. This is both at the level of purpose – the role and meaning of learning and knowledge in future societies; and one of institutions – the changing nature of schooling and higher education within society.
To support and develop public debate – in Norway and beyond - the Faculty of Education at the University of Oslo is hosting twice a year dialogues that bring together the key diverse stakeholders from education and education systems to help create a shared language, a joint understanding of key challenges facing our education system, and hopefully a growing consensus about possible future directions.
These dialogues envision debate about education as a space for public engagement about key values in society, the key principles which bind us together as a community and as a society, the key challenges facing our growth and development and ways to negotiate the various crises which are besetting the field of education domestically and around the world.
The insights and recommendations from each seminar are compiled into a written report, which summarize the main points of discussion, highlight areas of consensus and disagreement, and outline possible implications for policy, practice, and further research. These reports are published after the conclusion of each seminar.