Lord Puttnam tonight at Cardiff Business Club encourages Cardiff to be “…informed, literate, and digital participants”.The evening was sponsored by UWIC and presided over by Vice Chancellor Tony Chapman.
Lord Puttnam said "It is not an either or position . Only by engaging with these new and ever more extraordinary learning processes, facilitated by digital technology, and then taking ownership of the ethos that drives them, will we produce a generation of creative learners with a breadth and a depth of understanding capable of dealing with the immense challenges of this new and very difficult century of ours."
After ten years in the advertising industry, Lord Puttnam spent 30 years as an independent film producer. His films include Chariots of Fire - which earned him an Oscar - Local Hero, The Killing Fields, The Mission and My Life So Far. He was chairman and chief executive officer of Columbia Pictures from 1986-1988.
"Teachers are without question the most important people in Britain," he says. 'The future of our society over the next 10 or 20 years is entirely dependent on the quality of teaching' -
“When I was in Sunderland we tried to create opportunities for people and for the region to give the region confidence and self belief. I think we did a good job in that direction.”
”We are getting much better at tailoring to the individual needs, playing to students’ strengths as opposed to criticising their weaknesses,” he added.
“The world of education is going through a metamorphosis which will mean that it is better equipped to deal with the challenges of this 21st century. It is the century for young people.”
Puttnam's passion for education developed after his days at Minchenden Grammar School in London, which he left with only modest academic qualifications. Later, he says, he confided over dinner that he "woke up", and realised what he was missing.
When Mr Blair ‘s government came to power, he became chairman of the Education Standards Task Force and later the General Teaching Council.
Far from sharing what he sees as an unfair media image of teachers, though, Lord Puttnam is one of their champions and demonstrated this by answering questions of teachers in the audience.
