Alliance for International Education to Hold First Conference in China

Leading educators from five continents will arrive in Shanghai for the Alliance for International Education 2006 Conference 27-29 October. This will be the first time the Alliance for International Education (AIE) will be held outside Europe, and the first to be hosted by Chinese educational institutions.

A relatively new organization AIE has already become one of the leading and most prestigious organizations in the field of international education. Its founding members and supporting patrons and partners include such famous international education institutions as the International Baccalaureate Organization (IBO) in Geneva, Switzerland; the Center for the study of Education in an International Context (CEIC) at the University of Bath in England; the Council of International Schools; the European Council of International Schools; George Mason University in the USA; the International Schools Organization (ISA); the International School of Dusseldorf in Germany; the Dutch International Schools; and the United World Colleges.Representatives from these and a wide range of other organizations and institutions in international education will participate this year in the Shanghai conference.

From 2002 to 2006, the AIE has been linked with the organization of global conferences and follow up activities of Conference Organizing Teams, several Working Groups, and the Alliance Coordinating Team. Dr. Betty Chan, Director of the Yew Chung Education Foundation, was the first Chinese invited to give a keynote address at the 2004 AIE Conference in Dusseldorf, Germany. In response to her address, which gave a non-Western perspective to international education, the AIE invited Yew Chung and Shanghai Education Association for International Exchange to host their 2006 Conference in Shanghai. From this conference, the AIE is ready to launch a new stage in the development of local regional chapters to complement global activities in international education.

Holding the conference in Shanghai has generated excitement throughout the international education field. More than 200 participants from approximately 15 countries will attend. Participants are eager to meet and interact with their Chinese counterparts. The purpose of AIE is to bring together all people committed to advancing international and intercultural education through education globally. The Shanghai Conference should demonstrate that "International" does not mean "Western" and international education is truly a global concept that includes all educators equally.

This year's conference theme is "Educating for Global Citizenship". Professor Ye Lan and Professor Hu Ruiwen will give guest speeches. Leaders from the Ministry of Education and Shanghai People's Government will officiate the opening. Two plenary sessions will have keynote speakers, including Professor Paul Yip Kwok-wah, Chairman of the Hong Kong Policy Research Institute and Chairman of the China-European Studies Institute at Xi'an Jaio Tong University, speaking on "Education for Global Citizenship in the Globalization Era" Friday morning October 27th. The following day Professor Fazal Rizvi of the University of Illinois in the USA, will speak on "Education and its Cosmopolitan Possibilities". Professor Jeff Thompson CBE, former Director of the Academic Unit and Head of the Research Unit of the International Baccalaureate Organization and Professor Emeritus at the University of Bath, will preside as AIE Chairman.

Following the keynote addresses, there will be six breakout sessions on thematic strands derived from the conference theme. They include sessions on "Defining global citizenship", "Developing global citizenship in diverse contexts", Helping teachers and administrators to promote global citizenship", "Designing curriculum for global citizenship and international understanding", "Partnerships that make differences in promoting global citizenship", and "Challenges for institutions that promote global citizenship".

All sessions will be held at the Yew Chung International School (YCIS) in Shanghai on Friday and Saturday, October 27/28, and at YCIS Shanghai-Pudong on Sunday, October 29. There will be a civic reception with public officials welcoming the conference on Friday evening as well as an AIE conference dinner on Saturday evening, both at the Renaissance Yangtze Shanghai Hotel, the main conference hotel. Participants will have an opportunity to visit Xintiandi, the Bund, and Pudong. Many are staying longer to tour China.

During the AIE Conference in Shanghai, the Coordinating Team will help to move forward the establishment of local Alliance activities, and further the objectives of the Alliance in developing local links and collaborative ventures, bringing together East and West in international education activities. These local ventures could focus on helping teachers and administrators to advance international and intercultural understanding, enhancing learning of relevant concepts, skills and values, discussing curriculum, influencing teaching and learning, forming partnerships and twinning projects, or identifying and disseminating good practice. The team designated China for the site of its 2006 conference because the immense contributions China can and will make to the future directions of global education in the 21st century.

Registration forms can be downloaded from www.aie.org.cn and from www.intedalliance.org

Feng Xu Secretary-General of Shanghai Education Association for International Exchange	Dr. Gary Morrison Assistant Director of Yew Chung Education Foundation
	Q & A