The worldwide economy has jolted all of us to attention, while our public and private institutions are faced with budget-cuts, hiring freezes, and uncertainty. As we know, education has always been our country's source of new ideas and wealth creation. That's why it's more important than ever that we address unmet needs in education. Come be a part of the process of supercharging education during these tough times! The inaugural Big Ideas Fest is the starting point for a movement that supports innovation in education at a time when the need to accelerate high-quality learning is truly essential for our country and our future. The goal of this unique three-day meeting of experts and creative doers and thinkers is to spotlight, challenge and change the ways in which education can be made relevant to learning in the post-industrial world. The goal is to increase relevance of education while placing learning at the front and center of all that we do - Alan Levine