50+20 was an influential and high-profile collaborative visioning initiative for the future of management education in the run up to Rio+20.
It sought to identify new ways and opportunities for management education to transform and reinvent itself. It asked critical questions about the state of the world, the emerging societal issues, the dominant economic logic, the purpose of business, the crucial role of leadership, and the challenges facing management education.
Background
Business and management education efforts still largely function in line with an agenda that was set during the 1950s when the world was a very different place from the one we know today. It has therefore been 50+ years since the agenda for management education has been reset. The RIO+20 United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development in 2012 marked the 20th anniversary of the 1992 Rio Earth summit. At that point, it had therefore been 20 years since Governments collectively urged us to rethink economic development and find ways to halt the destruction of irreplaceable natural resources. It is at this juncture in history where 50+20 took action to reset the management education agenda.
50+20’s point of departure was the belief that the time is ripe for critical reflection on the role business and management education plays in society, today and specifically tomorrow.
Aim and purpose of 50+20
Management education FOR the world provides education and research that is relevant & applied, holistic & integrative, responsible & sustainable, inter-disciplinary & multi-level, and, of course, learning-oriented.
A 50+20 report that highlighted the vision, the challenges and the emerging solutions was presented at the RIO+20 United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development in June 2012 alongside a comprehensive book for managers, business students and general public outlining the future management education provider in pragmatic and captivating language.
The 50+20 vision itself was written in an evolving, collaborative process where contributions informed each other, creating a process of continuous integration and information updates, working with an international group of stakeholders of management education.
OPEN for 50+20
OPEN aims to pick up where 50+20 left off by building on its legacy to catalyse the achievement of its vision.