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NICIE Chief Executive travels to Kuwait conference10/04/2009
NICIE Chief Executive Michael Wardlow swapped rainy Northern Ireland for sun drenched Kuwait in April when he attended a conference on Connecting Classrooms, a global initiative organised by the British Council.
Connecting Classrooms creates links between schools in the UK and schools in other countries. Partners then work together on projects, bringing an international dimension to students’ learning and improving their knowledge of other cultures.
The conference focused on connections established between UK pupils and those living in the Middle East, but the British Council programme also operates in many other areas.
Mr Wardlow was invited to come to the two day event as a delegate and representative of integrated schools. He was impressed with the whole conference, which was attended by around 140 people from 10 countries.
He said: “It was all very interesting, particularly meeting with people from the Arab countries and discussing their school systems, and the conference as a whole was a great advocate for Connecting Classrooms.
“I think it is something that schools need to take seriously with the world economy we now have and increasing globalisation. If Northern Ireland remains peaceful we could start to get more and more people coming in from all over the world, with cultural backgrounds very different from ours.
“This is something which should be celebrated and Connecting Classrooms would help prepare us for such an influx in a very positive manner. It’s a cost effective way of making links across the world.
“The programme is also particularly relevant to integrated schools because Integrated Education has always been about bringing people together and celebrating diversity.
“At the conference, we saw through presentations how well it can work in primary schools and even in secondary schools.
“I’m now surprised how little knowledge I had of such a worthwhile initiative before coming to the conference. I’m very pleased to have been invited to share in the event.”
To find out more about the Connecting Classrooms, please click here.
