This great endeavor, Asgardia, with its laudable ideals and worthy mission has for its

own, an opportunity to breach the conventions of what is possible with regard to public
institution. Particularly, I am referring to the institution of Education. It is a subject near
and dear to me as I have been involved with it in one context or another for a sizable
portion of my earthly life.
I have seen many proposed ideas in the conversations regarding how education as
an institution might be made manifest in Asgardia and to my sociology-laden mind, I
keep returning to this notion that we must somehow reconcile one major sociocultural
reality of earthbound civilization: the differences in the concept of the self among the
varying societies on earth.
Cultural competence luminary Professor Jean Moule (2012) suggested that "the self
develops very differently in cultures where group members conceive of themselves not
as individuals but part of a broader collective" (p. 104). How important a distinction,
more especially in a proposed society wherein its denizens are constitutionally afforded
the right to "the harmonious development of individuals" (2017, Constitution, Article 4).
The wording suggests an amicable blending of both individualist and collectivist
sociocultural values. Harmony, that all-important, cultural homeostasis that flows
between the individual, the family and the community, providing security, obligation and
a strong sense of cultural purpose that stretches deep into the past, hoping for the
future. Next to it, is the individual; an assertive force that exists within society but apart
from it as well, allowing the exploration of identity, experience and potential without
being fettered by inherited mores, folkways and culturally-mediated prohibitions. Can
they coexist? More specifically, can they be fostered intentionally within our citizens as
normative?
This, I think, is very attainable and would be a boon to Asgardian culture. Within the
institution of Education, this ethos could be a core component of how learning is
facilitated in the first place and fits squarely within the boundaries of my own cultural
philosophy of Education: ​Think Populations, See Individuals.
​As we move forward in this work, I am excited at the prospect to debate the
possibility of such a lofty constitutional notion as the harmonious development of
individuals. In my mind, a space-faring humanity needs all of its possible, human
strengths both collective and individual. Space is big.
My fellow Asgardians, who among you feels the same? Who takes issue? What are
your ideas? How do we fulfill such an exemplory calling?
The Stars Await,
Leo Rián
Think Populations, See Individuals

References
Constitution of the Space Kingdom of Asgardia. (2017). Chapter 2, Article 4(4)(e)
Supreme Values of
Asgardia​. Retrieved from https://asgardia.space/en/page/constitution#c2-a4
Moule, J. & Diller, J. (2012). Cultural competence : a primer for educators. Belmont, CA:
Wadsworth.