Bonjour and bienvenue to World Teachers’ Day from Paris, France!
Photo from my wandering yesterday at Jardin du Musée Rodin
Ron Thorpe and I were among the first to arrive at UNESCO headquarters for the official program. I’ve got my croissant and tea, and I’m ready to take a stand for teachers... once everyone else shows up.
The day’s agenda is a feast of international perspectives:
• Opening Ceremony featuring Irina Bokova, director general of UNESCO
• “Take a Stand for Teachers!” speakers from UNESCO’s Education Sector, including David Atchoarena, Director of Teacher Development and Higher Education
• Discussion panel on “attracting the best to teaching and retaining them” chaired by Oliver Liang and Marinlena Viviani from International Labour Organization. The panelists are a hit parade of ministers, cultural attaches, and other senior officials:
- Rima Al Baksheet, Jordan
- Winsome Gordon, Jamaica
- Kourouma Ibrahima, Guinea Republic
- Luc Ria, France
- Maker Mwangu Famba, Democratic Republic of Congo,
- Nollitha Vukuza-Linda, South Africa
• Discussion panel on “improving teacher status” moderated by David Edwards from Education International. Panelists are researchers and organization leaders working on elevating the teaching profession:
- John Bangs, Cambridge, UK
- Tunde Kovacs Cerovic, Belgrade University, Serbia
- Sofialeticia Morales Garza, Mexico
- Aniceto Sobrepena, Philippines
- Ron Thorpe, National Board for Professional Teaching Standards, USA
• Closing remarks from Francesc Pedro, Chief of the Section for Teacher Development and Education Policies at UNESCO,
There’s also a side exhibition on UNESCO’s Hamdan bin Rashid Al-Maktoum Prize for Outstanding Practice and Performance in Enhancing the Effectiveness of Teachers.
More as the story develops!