Notes from the EARCOS Teacher Advisory Committee
Published in The ET Journal Spring Issue 2023
The Teacher Advisory Council convened prior to the start of the Earcos Teachers’ Conference in Kota Kinabalu on March 22, 2023. The group, comprised of educators representing the regions of the more than 200 EARCOS schools, met to look ahead to the 2024 and 2025 ETC with much excitement.
The educators expressed a desire to reconnect with their students, communities and colleagues across Asia as we move forward with hope and a desire to bring about change in a world where things we long took for granted no longer seem as certain. As we discussed local initiatives and global issues that touch our lives and those of our school communities, we kept returning to the importance of being connected and collaborative as we consider what we can do. This determination is reflected in the theme of the 2024 ETC: Awareness, Agency and Action. We are excited about the ways in which educators from all disciplines can work together to foster passion for important causes and empower their students to act.
To this end, the Advisory Council is committed to bringing back the much-loved raffle/auction to support a designated charity in 2024. For those new to EARCOS, each school in attendance at the ETC donates an item that represents its country, and teacher delegates are able to place bids on the donations, with winners announced on the final day. In the past the auction and raffle has raised thousands of dollars for various charities such as The Hug Project, After the Wave, and Operation Smile. The charity selected for 2024 is Days for Girls International, whose mission is to “increase access to menstrual care and education by developing global partnerships, cultivating Social Enterprises, mobilising volunteers and innovating sustainable solutions that shatter stigma and limitations for women and girls.” Days for Girls International started in 2008 and has since grown into an organisation that reached more than 400,000 in 2021. We are happy to be able to contribute to their work, so come to Bangkok with an eye for a treasure that you would like to bid on to take home.
Keynote speakers and presenters who are recognized for their expertise are an essential part of any successful conference, and we came up with a long list of names that would complement our many wonderful teacher presenters and reflect the conference theme. Stay tuned for more information when details about the 2024 ETC are published this fall.
Another important topic of conversation was the best way to organise future conferences: is it better to continue with strands that rotate every three years, or consider conferences organised around a practice or pedagogy? There was a sense that because EARCOS ETC is one of the few regional conferences that attracts a range of teachers while still meeting the needs of specific disciplines, it is best to keep it as is with strands. A priority for selecting conference proposals is to offer multiple high quality sessions for teachers in each strand. With so many outstanding teacher presenters in our member schools, conference attendees will certainly come away with many ideas to add to their own practice.
We hope that you are making plans to join us at the Awareness, Agency and Action ETC at the Shangri-la Hotel in Bangkok in March 2024. We are excited about the many opportunities to learn from regional colleagues, develop and renew professional networks, and hear from experts in our disciplines and areas of interest from other parts of the world.
About the Author
Betsy Lewis-Moreno is a High School Humanities teacher at
Hong Kong International School. She can be contacted at
blewismoreno@hkis.edu.hk
