During the 13th  hybrid round of the Festival, experts from Poland and the world were looking for answers to questions such as how to learn and develop more effectively with technological support, or skillfully read the trends in order to be able to plan development, both of you and your organization.

The event organized by the Information Society Development Foundation and the Polish-American Freedom Foundation was attended by ca. 900 people online and 100 people participated in on-site masterclass-type workshops.

The era of permanent and flexible learning

“Access to knowledge is absolutely obvious, one doesn’t have to spend lots of time to look for sources. The real value is the way you process it and use for making the right decisions,” said Dominika Bettman of Microsoft Polska at the panel summing up the Festival.

Together with popularization of AI in everyday life and work, events that we call technological revolution (as it is in the case of generative AI) focus our attention more and make us think them over.

“We go through the process of discovering what AI is helpful in, where it unburdens us, and where there are limitations. We are experimenting with technologies in the spirit of critical reflection. Development is fun!” Prof. Aleksandra Przegalińska of Kozminski University said in her opening address.

Discovering one’s own lack of knowledge

Practical application of knowledge is critical and therefore experimenting is more important than perfect knowledge of theory on a given subject. “Today selection of sources we have access to and we use for getting information is the biggest challenge. We shall select them carefully and focus on what we really want to learn,” Bartek Pucek advised.

Answering the same question, Dr. Agnieszka Popławska of SWPS spoke about Action Learning, a method of conducting training sessions and workshops. It consists in defining what key tasks and problems we need to solve at work and how to learn on them rather than studying theory. During this year’s round of Festival this and similar methods of learning through getting experience were referred to many times by Julie Dirksen, the educational processes consultant and author of Design For How People Learn book. In her presentation she explained among other things how to select a proper strategy to develop at various levels of advancement and skills flexibility.

Artificial Intelligence as a virtual assistant of an educator

AI development is today a serious challenge in education. For some people using ChatGPT and other AI tools in learning process means evolution, while for the others it is a step towards the total revolution. In any case, we should not be afraid to test new methods and include the into our everyday use.

“Learning how to give correct commands to machines shall be introduced to agendas of our training sessions, classes, and teaching materials. When we have finished our education at school or university, we will need these skills at our work,” Ewa Kołodziejczyk of Microsoft Poland said.

Creation of drafts for training sessions, communication with users, translation of the contents, or generation of images – AI can help teachers at every stage of educational process. The Festival participants especially emphasized the role of AI in progress analysis and identifying areas that require particular support. According to surveys and studies, AI is especially useful for less qualified employees, as it plays an important role in leveling chances and deficits  in education.

Navigating in uncertainty, designing training sessions and creative teamwork

How shall we realize our goals at the time of uncertainty? Which methods use to work creatively in a team, design training sessions and focus the attention of headhunters? The participants of the on-site workshops were looking for answers to these questions.

After the period of break caused by pandemic, this year the Festival got a new offline formula. Four practical, all-day workshops were held in the inspiring space of Google for Startups Campus. Participants had an opportunity to select from the following topics: increasing effectiveness and reaching goals at the time of uncertainty, effective methods of teamwork, use of social media for looking for job, and designing training sessions and development using Learning Battle Cards. The workshops meant not only intensive work in groups but also a looked forward by many participants opportunity to meet directly and share experiences in informal atmosphere.

The Polish-American Freedom Foundation Sector 3.0 Prize for 2023 awarded to the Association of Little Brothers of the Poor

“This year the Prize Committee decided to award the organization that not only systematically and consistently implements new technological solutions in their operational, fundraising or information activities but also uses in practical work with its beneficiaries – seniors – the opportunities offered by technology, Polish-American Freedom Foundation Program Director Radosław Jasiński said explaining the decision made by the Prize Committee.

The Prize Winner – the Association of Little Brothers of the Poor – received a grant of PLN 40.000 for its statutory activities and promotion in third sector community all over Poland.

The Sector 3.0 Festival is a part of “Sector 3.0” PAFF program, and it is organized by the Information Society Development Foundation.

Organizers: Information Society Development Foundation, Polish-American Freedom Foundation

Honorary Patrons: Kozminski University, DELab UW, GOV TECH Polska, the Mayor of Warsaw

Institutional Partners: Innovation Campus, Ringier Axel Springer Polska

Main Media Patron: Onet

Technological Patrons: Microsoft, Orange, Google

Supporting Partners: No Fluff Jobs, CIC Warsaw, District Hall, Trend House, Fundacja Venture Cafe Warsaw, Coalition for Polish Innovation, Miro, My Digital Life, WUD Silesia, Wikimedia

Media Patrons: Daily Web, ngo.pl, The Re:view