FROM LEFT: Anwar A Baki, Acting Online Education Manager, Essa Al Manni, Executive Director, Reach Out to Asia; Abdulla Hashim, Public Affairs Manager, RasGas; and Maryam Yassin Al Hamadi, Director of Communications and Media Office, Supreme Education Council, during the Press Conference at Qatar Foundation, yesterday. Kammutty V P
DOHA: Reach Out To Asia (Rota) is hosting the 20th Annual iEARN (International Education and Resource Network) International Conference and 17th Youth Summit, a first in the GCC.
“By hosting the iEARN conference in Qatar we will be making history as the first country in the Gulf to host the event. This year marks the 25th anniversary of iEARN, and we look forward to commemorate this milestone by making it as the most successful conference of iEARN,” said Essa Al Mannai, Executive Director at Rota at a press conference yesterday.
Taking place at Qatar National Convention Center (QNCC) from July 1 to 6, the conference will witness around 500 teachers and students from more than 50 countries gather in Qatar to share and learn how technology is being used in the classrooms under the theme ‘ICT for Education: Reaching Out, Building Bridges.’
Among the topics to be taken up at the conference are environment, cultural diversity and the use of ICT in the classroom. Educators and students will be able to attend plenary sessions, deliver or attend a variety of workshops to further develop their knowledge and skills, share experiences, discover innovative ways to use ICTs, and connect with their peers across the world.
The conference program will offer eight plenary sessions, two panel discussions, and more than 90 workshops and presentations. In addition, there will be an exhibition for students and teachers to showcase their projects, or present about their cultures.
World- renowned speakers like Dr Essam Heggy, Dr Mohamed Ally, Peter Copen, Dr Judi Harris and Julie Lindsay, who will address the conference.
RasGas is the Golden Sponsor and Qatar Vinyl Company, the Bronze sponsor, while The Supreme Education Council is the official partner of the iEARN conference.
“RasGas is very excited with the opportunity to sponsor the iEARN project. We are committed to encouraging youth to participate in novel learning projects like this because it will help propel a whole generation of thinkers and movers that will make the future of Qatar and the region even brighter and more promising,” said Abdulla Hashim, RasGas Public Affairs Manager. iEARN is a non-profit organization made up of over 30,000 schools and youth organizations in more than 130 countries. iEARN empowers teachers and young people to work together online using the Internet and other new communications technologies. Over 2,000,000 students each day are engaged in collaborative project work worldwide.
In Qatar, Rota is the official representative of the iEARN program providing opportunities for students and teachers to collaborate through the network with other iEARN communities around the world. Since its launch in 2008, the program has reached 95 schools, 411 teachers have been trained and 1,442 students have actively participated in projects.
The Peninsula
