Global Citizenship – Keynote speaker, Ed Kirwan, founder of Empathy Week

This year’s keynote speaker for the start of the Global Citizenship programme was Ed Kirwan, the founder of Empathy Week. Ed came to speak with students about empathy, why it is important, what empathy can look like in action, and how the Empathy Week organisation aims to help students all over the world develop empathy through the medium of film.

Ed spent time examining human connections and how the diversity of experiences helps us all develop empathy. He engaged with pupils in an interactive poll, asking them about the biggest issues on their minds.

The key message from Ed was ‘Seen + Heard = Understood,’ summed up by a quote he shared from Brene Brown: “We need to dispel the myth that empathy is ‘walking in someone else’s shoes’. Rather than walking in your shoes, I need to learn how to listen to the story you tell about what it’s like in your shoes and believe you even when it doesn’t match my experiences.”