Education experts to convene in Auckland

Education experts and policy makers from 12 countries are about to gather in Auckland for a three day summit devoted to meeting the needs of students in a rapidly changing world, says Education Minister Hekia Parata.

Ngā Kāwai Hono – Where the web of relationships and virtual connections meet is being jointly hosted by the Government and Global Education Leaders’ Partnership (GELP). It will be the 12th summit organised by the partnership established in 2009 to bring together key education thinkers.

“The summit will focus on the use of indigenous concepts and frameworks, community ownership and modern delivery models in an education context,” says Ms Parata. “New Zealand is seen as a leader in education in the area of diversity and as interest has grown regarding the importance of addressing inequity in education outcomes, increasing international attention has focused on what we are doing to address it.

“GELP NZ provides us with an opportunity to showcase aspects of our education system to a highly informed, interested and influential international audience. It will also provide an opportunity for New Zealand educators to learn from some of the world’s leading education experts.

The keynote speakers will be British author Charles Leadbeater, a leading authority on innovation and creativity and former adviser to Tony Blair, and Yong Zhao, the presidential chair and director of the Institute for Global and Online Education in the College of Education at the University of Oregon.

Following the summit attendees will have the opportunity to visit Auckland schools and kura to explore the leading edge work being done in this country.

The summit begins tomorrow and concludes on Tuesday.