Report on IPSEF (International and Private Schools Education Forum) in London on the 23rd and 24th of November 2011

The event was an opportunity for key experts and practitioners in the field of International Education to share their visions and concerns. Present were some 150 participants from all over the world. Attendees represented a wide range of corporate education groups, investors, advisers and government authorities.

ISA participation in the International and Private Schools Education Forum (IPSEF) , London November 23rd and 24th 2011

ISA will be well represented at the forthcoming International and Private Schools Education Forum (IPSEF)to be held in London between November 23rd and 24th 2011. Mr Luis Martinez, our Chairman, will be speaking on the topic of: ‘How do you successfully develop your school brand overseas’, and Andrew McEwen, our Promotions and Marketing Adviser; will be speaking on: ‘Managing your vision from Finance to Facilities Management’. Both will participate in round table discussions and Q & A sessions.

Challenge 20/20 brings together schools in the United States with schools in other countries. Together they identify local solutions to a global problem.

You can find more information and register here.

“The Transatlantic Slave Trade:  The Living Legacies of
30 Million Untold Stories”

On 17 December 2007, the General Assembly adopted resolution A/RES/62/122 designating 25 March as the International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade.  The Day serves as a reminder that greater effort must be made to ensure that the history of the transatlantic slave trade is not forgotten and that it is used as a tool to combat discrimination and inequality.

From the 16th to the 19th century, millions of Africans were forcibly removed from their homelands and shipped in bondage to colonies in North and South America and the West Indies. During the notorious “Middle Passage” across the Atlantic, they suffered unspeakable brutality, chained together in unsanitary, disease-ridden conditions. Those who survived were sold for considerable profit into a life of slavery.  

Stripped of their names, identity, as well as all freedoms and human rights, they were reduced to commodities to be bought and sold or given away as gifts. They were forced to endure back breaking labour under the harsh treatment of slave masters serving as a permanent supply of labour which generated immense wealth for business enterprises in America and Europe.

While he transatlantic slave trade was history’s largest forced migration and one of its greatest assaults on the integrity and dignity of human beings, details regarding this tragedy often remain hidden, especially in school text books.

A briefing taking place in New-York will present untold stories that may be used as a means to accurately teach awareness and understanding of the Transatlantic Slave Trade.  The briefing will also examine the role of oral traditions, particularly those of enslaved Africans, in handing down lessons and preserving history.

Opening Statement
H.E. Mr. Raymond O. Wolfe, Permanent Representative of Jamaica to the
United Nations

Speakers

Dr. Alvin Thompson, Professor Emeritus, Department of History and Philosophy, University of the West Indies, Cave Hill, Barbados

Dr. Abena Busia, Associate Director, Center for African Studies, Rutgers University

Dr. Michael A. Gomez, Professor of African History and the African Diaspora, New York University

ISA will be present at the briefing and will make teaching material and resources available as they become accessible.

Update: Please find below the Secretary-General's message on the International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade, 25 March 2011.

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“While the teacher in an international school has the duty to affirm human rights and values, he has as well the right to state his own opinions in order to develop ethical standards. The manner in which this is done should depend on the age and composition of the class.”

So read the statement published in the Report of the First Conference of Teachers of Social Studies in International Schools held at the International School of Geneva under the auspices of the International Schools Association from 26 August to 1 September 1962 (ISA Newsletter, N°13), under the topic “differences of viewpoint as to ethical standards, morality, humour, good taste in international schools”.

Thinking has evolved considerably on this topic over the years and now, nearly 50 years later, the 6th Annual Ecolint Education Conference hosted by the International School of Geneva and sponsored by the International Schools Association will present the topic “Ethical Issues in Education”. Director General Nicholas Tate will preside over the discussions, presenting 3 distinguished speakers on the subject followed by a round table. Last year’s conference on Creativity (report attached here) attracted over 200 delegates. We strongly recommend that those of you who are education administrators, policy makers, principals in international and national schools, educators of teachers and teachers in all types of schools make an effort to attend this very high-level, stimulating event (registration form attached here).