The 2010 Global Symposium on ICT in Education was co-organized by the World Bank, UNESCO, Korea Education & Research Information Service (KERIS) and Intel as well as the Inter American Development Bank and USAID. The event, the fourth in a series of the partnership between KERIS, Intel and the World Bank, focused on the importance of ICT Education agencies in driving education transformation.
The conference included presentations and breakout sessions to discuss how education systems should structure themselves to meet new the challenges of education in the 21st century, and what roles and responsibilities a dedicated ICT in education agency or unit play, as well as to allow participants to share various implementation models and best practices with their peers from around the world.
Delegates shared a common sense of purpose to learn from each other about how other countries solved similar issues and challenges in ICT in Education.
The worldwide conference shared case studies about the experiences in building National ICT in Education agencies in Australia, UK, Japan, and Uruguay. The case studies were followed up with a series of and roundtable discussions led by representatives from to discuss the achievements and challenges experienced in building ICT in Education institutions in various countries.
Intel’s efforts and leadership were recognized by many speakers at the event. For example, Professor Miguel Nussbaum from Chile was a strong advocate of Intel’s approach in education. He introduced the Classmate PC as an effective tool for students and quoted Craig Barrett’s statement that “computers aren’t magic, teacher are” as he emphasized that it’s the teachers who make the difference in education.
Mr. Pal Des, Director of ICT training in Cambodia, mentioned the Intel® Teach program and shared stories about the successes of training pre-service teachers using the program.
In addition to the main conference content, the event was an outstanding catalyst to provide opportunities for various countries to collaborate in private, and in small groups, to discuss common challenges that they face in developing ICT in Education policy. Among the many side discussions, delegates from Pakistan met with the Korean vice minister to discuss collaboration opportunities, and delegates from Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos reviewed ICT in Education plans with their counterparts from Korea.
The event was an outstanding success with intensive sharing of diverse country experiences and learning. Intel’s role as a leader and a catalyst to create this opportunity for collaboration was recognized by key speakers and panelists.