School is back in session, and so are we. As educators head back to school, we’re looking to them, and the ideas emerging from the classroom, for what’s needed and next in education. We are thrilled to announce our first Keynote and three Featured Sessions for SXSW EDU 2027! 

In a rapidly changing world, our speakers are diving headfirst into how education meets the moment. As conversations around tech and AI are increasingly defined by urgency, anxiety, and uncertainty, New York Times-bestselling author Mac Barnett champions the power of picture books and the brilliance of the children who read them. In this Keynote, he challenges adults to stop underestimating children’s literature, showing why young readers deserve ambitious art and how imagination lays the groundwork for how we learn.

Education institutions are microcosms of our society, where today’s biggest changes are first manifested, tested, and solved. These Featured Sessions harness humor to turn classroom realities, youth culture, and civic values into smart, engaging solutions for the future.

Badges are on sale for SXSW EDU 2027. Start the school year with SXSW EDU on your calendar and register by Thursday, September 17 to secure the lowest rate of the season.

Keynote

A Conversation with Mac Barnett

As educators navigate rapid changes in technology, literacy, and how young people learn and engage with the world, Mac Barnett, New York Times-bestselling author and U.S. National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature, will share why children deserve respect and art just for them.

Mac Barnett, Author, U.S. National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature

Featured Sessions

Lore Drop: The Museum Rizzler & Friends Live

Chat, the mother of all museum tours, is coming to SXSW EDU. After racking up 30+ million views dropping art history lore in delightfully unhinged internet slang, a 78-year-old National Gallery of Art curator is bringing the Museum Rizzler IRL. Think art history isn’t your thing? Perfect. Experience her live, then go behind the scenes with the National Gallery’s social media team to discover how they blended scholarship with comedy to build brand affinity, reach new audiences, and turn a legacy institution into cultural conversation.

The Classroom Is Telling Us Something

What if the classroom is one of the best places to understand what’s really happening across the nation? Teachers see it first: how technology is changing learning, how economic pressure shapes students’ lives, and how communities and the workforce are evolving. Increasingly, schools are also becoming third spaces — places where students find food, connection, trusted adults, technology, and safety. In this candid conversation, Emmy Award-winning producer and comedian W. Kamau Bell brings teachers to the stage to share what they’re seeing on the frontlines — and what it means for all of us.

W. Kamau Bell, Comedian, Who’s with Me & DonorsChoose

What Kindergarten Can Teach Us About Democracy

What if the skills that help kindergarten students participate in a classroom are also the skills adults need to participate in civic life? Blending classroom expertise with years of communicating complex issues to millions online, this session will translate what early childhood educators know about fairness, disagreement, and belonging into practical strategies for making civic life more accessible: explaining complex issues clearly, lowering the temperature without avoiding hard conversations, and helping people understand what fairness actually requires.

Arielle Fodor, Content Creator & Advocate, Mrs. Frazzled