We will transform Reading Gaol into The ReCentre–an art space/boutique hotel that serves as a paean to unfettered creative expression, a refuge for artists worldwide who face persecution.

Collaboration

with

Serkong School

We are proud to be collaborating with Serkong School, in our first foray into improving education throughout the Himalayas. Serkong is a primary school founded by Tabo Monastery–the millennium-old Buddhist Temple in India. We provide Serkong School with financial assistance so it can recruit new English teachers, and also adopt Emory University’s innovative SEE (Social, Emotional, and Ethical) Learning Program to cultivate capable, self-affirmed students.

Transforming Education w/ Teachers College Columbia University

Ziran Education has partnered with Teachers College Columbia University, to devise a new learning model which–while fully secular–centres around benefits humans can derive from mindfulness and spiritual belief. Pictured is Ziran Education founder Channing Bi (left) with Columbia’s Dr. Lisa Miller, founder of the Spirituality Mind Body Institute, and author of “The Spiritual Child: The New Science of Parenting for Health and Lifelong Thriving”

Supporting Japan’s Nippon Foundation

Ziran Founder Channing Bi (right) has contributed $1 Million USD to the Nippon Foundation of Tokyo, Japan, a philanthropic organisation responsible for large-scale humanitarian aid initiatives worldwide.

MEETING WITH

Mr. PARK SEO-BO

The late Park Seo-Bo, whose abstract paintings were foundational to Korea’s Art Informel Movement, entered into an arrangement with Ziran that will see 100 pieces of his invaluable work displayed in the museum of an experimental K-12 school that Ziran will build. Mr. Park’s eclectic painting style perfectly symbolises the planned school’s ethos of drawing influence from philosophies across hemispheres.

HEART’S AWAKENING

Build It, our sister company, is an innovative new online store for bulk buyers of homebuilding materials. Build It provides UK builders with low prices, thanks to our cutting-edge algorithms, zero inventory costs and zero warehouse operating expenses.

Solcode, our other sister company, is committed to making electric vehicle ownership accessible to all UK citizens. Specialising in EV charging, sales, and leases, Sol Code offers the best prices in the market, ensuring that a global transition to electric mobility is affordable and seamless for all.

Banksy Pledges $13.3 Million to Help Turn the U.K. Prison Where Oscar Wilde Was Once Held Into an Art Center

The maverick street artist plans to sell a stencil to raise funds to buy Reading Gaol.

OUR MISSION

We are uniting with forward-thinking educators worldwide to establish a new science-backed, spirituality-informed education model that will help students achieve self-mastery, so they can maximise their positive impact on the world.

OUR VISION

Awakened minds unfurling a brighter future.

OUR VALUES

Mercy

WE believe mercy is the key to a peaceful world. People with mercy are givers not takers. They are forgiving and tolerant. If there are more merciful people, then there will be less violence and war.

Composure

WE promote strategies for maintaining composure, because doing so, and resisting our impulse to be reactive enables us to see and sense so much more. Composure is the foundation for achieving clarity, progress and empathy, and the antidote to ignorance, indecision, and hostility.

Wisdom

WE believe every child is a natural genius. Our goal as educators is to open their hearts and minds by encouraging and supporting their spiritual development.

Inquiry

WE champion pure inquiry, learning for learning’s sake, seeking no outcome other than enlightenment. Every human is born observing and wondering impartially, uncorrupted by ulterior motives. We believe that by allowing people to return more frequently to that state of non-transactional exploration, we can help them tap into their deep, overlooked wells of potential.

Nature

WE believe nature is every child's greatest teacher. Exploring nature can open a child's mind, make them appreciate its beauty, respect every plant and animal, and connect spiritually with mystical forces of nature.

Attunement

WE do not think of “nature” and “civilization” as disparate realms, but rather zones within a single continuum. And because civilization is an outgrowth of nature, we believe that citizens of any developed civilization must remain aware of their shared lineages with every living being, and fulfil their duties of upholding a harmonious earthly coexistence among all human, plant, and animal life.

Community

WE believe educating children to see themselves as a part of a community is essential. They need to be aware that every action they take has the potential to impact society and environment as a whole.

Kinship

WE want every person to become adept at recognizing the theory of mind of every other person. We know there are countless people who are unlikely to cross paths with one another, but whose vibes and feelings of camaraderie would readily mesh once they do. We believe the key to widespread peace and prosperity is creating opportunities for people from divergent walks of life to perceive such kinship with one another.

READING PRISON - UPDATE TO SCHEME DEVELOPMENT AND PLANNING

The new owner of HM Prison Reading, Ziran Education Foundation, is happy to announce that it has completed its appointments of planning and heritage consultants, along with architects and other technical advisors. The newly assembled professional design team will explore ways of delivering Ziran’s strong vision for the historic prison, while facilitating the public’s access to it.

Ziran Education is cognisant of the important listing of the historic prison, and its status as a scheduled ancient monument, and recognises that all future proposals made involving the building must fully respect its official designation, and the associated requirements of such.

An update on the scheme development was provided to local groups and organisations on 25th November 2024.

REDUCTION IN TEMPORARY SITE USAGE & WITHDRAWAL OF POLICE APPLICATION

When the aforementioned preparatory work first began, Ziran Foundation was keen to accommodate various local groups in Reading, and their requests to use some less-historic areas on the Prison site for short periods. As such, Ziran briefly granted the Thames Valley Police permission to use non-listed buildings in the site’s southeast for police training purposes.

However, when the police submitted an application to RBC to secure temporary use of these less-historic areas, Ziran became aware of the concerns raised about damages to the important listed building. Recognising the duty of care it had for the prison as the site’s owner, Ziran felt it appropriate to end select uses for the site. Ziran then asked the Thames Valley Police to withdraw their application, and the police have graciously complied.

Now, as pre-application planning discussions with Reading Borough Council and relevant statutory organisations are set to begin, all future usage requests received by Ziran Education will be reviewed in this context so as not to impede the progress of our longer-term proposals, or compromise the site’s listed buildings and sensitive areas.