Thank you to everyone who participated in the first in-person and virtual conference held by the International Baccalaureate (IB) which gathered together more than 950 educators from 44 countries.
The IB Global Conference, Singapore (26-29 March 2022) was the IB’s first in-person conference since the COVID–19 pandemic began. Held under the theme, Embracing innovation, inspiring action, our community came together to engage in robust discussions and share fresh ideas and best practices for learning and teaching.
Our in-person attendees began their conference experience with a full day of interactive masterclasses to enhance their professional and leadership skills. These covered topics ranging from technology to teacher agency, as well as global citizenship education and the compassionate systems approach.
We began the conference with a welcome and opening remarks from IB Director General Olli-Pekka Heinonen and IB Global Director, Business Development, Haif Bannayan. This was followed by our community voice and IB alumna Sarah Tan, who shared skills she developed as a student—resilience, writing skills and self-confidence—which have become the bedrock of her career. During the opening panel, heads of schools shared insights on how challenges during the pandemic led to innovative solutions. Keynote speaker, Professor Lily Kong, President of Singapore Management University, spoke about strategies to develop an ecosystem of innovation in educational organizations. Following that, our first topic expert, Shan-En Yeo, shared her knowledge about cultivating youth resilience in an uncertain world. To wrap up the day, we explored transformational technologies for the classroom with experts Michael Klemm and Josep Mas.
Over the next two days, participants enjoyed numerous opportunities to learn from and connect with their peers in breakout and IB staff sessions. We explored more than a decade worth of research and reflected on strength-based teaching in IB programmes with keynote speaker, Dr Lea Waters. Our topic expert, Dr Heidi Hayes Jacobs, discussed how educators can streamline their curriculums and make the seismic shift to student-facing classrooms and schools. The virtual conference platform enabled participants to foster community ties from insightful discussions in roundtables and community discussions, student projects and performances, and social activities.
The success of this conference would not have been possible without the support of our global community and partners. We were hearted to see the conference filled with so much energy and positivity from both our in-person and virtual participants, and we look forward to continuing this meaningful dialogue in our upcoming conferences. See you in Australia in 2023!
#IBGC2022 highlights
Check out how much participants enjoyed the conference—and a special thanks to all who shared their favourite moments of the conference with us!
See the social media highlights here >
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