Rediscover the joy of learning in a “community for the curious”
In an age of misinformation, it is more vital than ever that access to knowledge through academics and experts be as widespread as possible.
Written by HYER NEWSROOM
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This is the basis for The Garden, an online community for those who love to learn – which, let’s face it, is everyone in one way or another. Based in London and co-founded by Sophie Adelman ( formerly Co-Founder of Multiverse ) and Simon Lambert in 2021, the Garden is striving to take all of us back to being that “why?” child, curiously on a quest for education.
As people, we are naturally inquisitive beings. It is in our nature to search for knowledge, and inherently we love to learn. However, learning today can be strenuous. In a world of fake news, alternative facts, and constant access to misinformation, it can be tiresome work trying to learn anything new.
When we have to sift fact from fiction simply in order to educate ourselves, our access to genuine expertise has never been more imperative. The Garden, having identified this problem, is democratising access to the world’s greatest minds in the hope of enabling anyone, anywhere, to learn with and from true experts.
Over 200 million people sign up for MOOC’s (Massive Open Online Courses) every year – so the hunger for this type of service is evident. Further, than simply encouraging people to get educated, The Garden is seeking to “put the joy back into learning.”
Interview with The Garden Co-Founder & CEO, Sophie Adelman
“Humans are intrinsically curious; we love to learn, but learning today is hard and joyless.
We are democratising access to the world’s greatest minds enabling anyone to learn with and from true experts.”
Sophie Adelman, Co-Founder & CEO
The Garden is building a diverse community for the curious, bringing together those who love to learn with leading academics and experts worldwide. Users can tune in to live-streamed talks on the fascinating topics which have shaped, and continue to shape, our world today. Enabling people to put their questions directly to world experts, They hope to allow people to go deeper into the topics they are most passionate about through member discussion circles.
Taking its namesake from a garden owned and used by Greek philosopher Epicurus, The Garden focuses particularly on democracy and accessibility. It is this aspect of the eponymous garden which particularly grabbed founder Sophie’s interest, and which sparked the idea of an inclusive environment for anybody who wishes to learn. Thirst for knowledge spans class, religion, gender, ethnicity, age and educational level - so access to it ought to do the same.
With almost 10,000 members having signed up in five months and hundreds of people turning up to live talks every week, The Garden is already helping many in their quest for knowledge. Members have access to over 100 leading academics from all over the world on a wide range of topics, and new Fellows are joining each week. While each talk stands alone, they can also sit within wider themed collections.
For example, If you were interested in the topic of love, you might watch a range of talks; from a neuroscientist discussing what happens in the brain when you fall in love or a biologist discussing pheromones, to a psychologist explaining why love matters in terms of survival. The wider focus of all of The Garden’s talks is on themes that are relevant to our understanding of the world as human beings, such as this on-demand class "How does our early education shape our future?"
Although educating oneself can seem difficult, intimidating, or downright impossible in the current climate, everyone has the right to quench their thirst for knowledge. And The Garden is well on its way to achieving dreams of a global community, united by a desire to scratch their curiosity and rediscover the joy of learning.
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