The British Council Egypt hosted a schools’ conference on June 12 to 13 gathering some of the most influential leaders from within the Egypt’s education system to share ideas as well as opportunities for growth and success with each other. Over 120 attendees came together in person to explore the important themes through keynote presentations, panel discussions and workshops. The event also brought in key experts from the UK to present the latest in education for the school leaders.
As the leader of the UK international schools’ community, the British Council also celebrated the success of its partners through an awards ceremony recognising their significant achievements over the last year and highlighting the developments in education.
The aim of the conference was to focus on the education in a post-pandemic world, recognising leadership challenges, working towards a safe culture for pupils and focusing on engagement programmes and professional development opportunities for teachers and school leaders. The conference explored how school leaders can build on their current work and have open discussions about the next steps needed. It also enabled policy makers, school leaders and academics to collaborate, exchange ideas, experiences, and knowledge.
On the first day of the conference, the attendees were welcomed by Elizabeth White OBE, Country Director, British Council Egypt and Ms Iman Sabry, Head of Private and International Department, Ministry of Education.
Ms Iman Sabry, Head of Private and International Department, Ministry of Education said, “The Ministry is working hard to discuss all developments with all schools to provide the necessary improvements to the educational process within international schools, and to exchange all information and experiences, and that the British Council has maintained all channels of communication open with all Education stakeholders, the Department of Education, UK donors and school leaders, and the result of this constant contact, has made it easier for all of our partners to work together to offer our students world-class options.”
Amongst the highlights from the conference was a keynote presentation on, Leading an Effective Professional Learning Community from Nehal Wanas, British Council Consultant. It focused on how the school learning community sets the scene for experiences necessary to advance individuals and how effective school leadership is about fostering a collaborative partnership between students and staff to achieve educational excellence.
Closing the conference, Fakhar Jaffery, British Council Director Exams Egypt added, “Our aim for this conference was to facilitate the exchange of knowledge and ideas among esteemed school leaders from across Egypt. We were lucky to bring together such an experienced group to discuss vital aspects across education as well the opportunities for the future. This mutual sharing of knowledge and experiences results in benefiting the schools, teachers and learner which is an ideal worth pursuing. We look forward towards continuing the dialogue so that schools can collaborate, network and learn from each other.”
Globally, British Council Partner Schools works with more than 2,100 schools, supports over 60,000 teachers and touches the lives of about one million students. With attendees from schools across Egypt, this event helps to support the mission of the British Council in building connections, understanding and trust through education.
