‘Building the Future of Education’ on spotlight at GESS Dubai 2017

395

Leading global education experts will share insights on how to build the future of education at the forthcoming GESS Dubai, to be held on March 14-16 at the Dubai World Trade Centre.

Organised by F&E Education, with the support of the UAE Ministry of Education, GESS Dubai has gathered the world’s foremost authorities and specialists on education transformation, learning, and curriculum development as keynote speakers of the plenary sessions taking place at the Global Education Forum (GEF) happening alongside the region’s premier education exhibition and conference.

Expected to attend the plenary sessions include leaders and key decision makers from the education sector throughout the Gulf region.

Among those who have confirmed participation are Ella Björnsdóttir, Senior Global Consultant-Keynote Speaker, FranklinCovey Education Worldwide; Graham Brown Martin, founder of Learning Without Frontiers; Ilona Boniwell, positivity expert and CEO at Positran; and Dr Khalifa Al Suwaidi, Assistant Professor at the Department of Curriculum & Instruction, Faculty of Education, UAE University.

In its 10th year, GESS Dubai and GEF have adopted the theme “Educate…Inspire…Build the Future” to reflect its long-standing commitment to be a platform for change and growth for the education sector in the Middle East.

Brown will speak on The Future of Learning and how education systems, supported by technological platforms can empower students to create a future society that is sustainable, happier and embraces diversity. “The children who are either entering the school system today or are already in the system will, in their lifetime, witness the greatest challenges that our species as ever faced. Climate change, population, antibiotic resistance, diversity, an ageing population and ideological conflict are just a few of the significant challenges of the 21st century. Our children will need to be equipped with the skills and knowledge to reimagine society. There has been much talk in education circles about “21st century skills” and yet without placing these skills within context they are meaningless,” he added.

Boniwell, another keynote speaker, will talk about Building children’s resilience and emotional wellbeing, using insights from positive education that brings together the findings of positive psychology and education to equip students with the knowledge and skills that will enable them to become more resilient and productive.

Meanwhile, Dr Al Suwaidi keynotes three presentations, including Schools without Thinking, which looks at mistakes schools make in teaching their students how to think; as well as the Extinction of the Teacher, which hopes to inspire teachers to keep in step with the evolving education landscape, to make them more relevant and their profession more responsive to the needs of schools and students in today’s rapidly changing world.

“These experts have been invited to share their expertise on how the teaching and learning experience can be positively transformed to ensure they are responsive to the needs of teachers and students, as well as to make education relevant to the needs of the Arab world as a whole,” said Matt Thompson, Project Director, F&E Education, organisers of GESS Dubai.

Aside from the plenary talks, education professionals visiting GESS Dubai will also learn from other experts featured in over 200 sessions, workshops and presentations that will dissect some of the most pressing challenges confronting the education sector in the region, as well as the latest trends on pedagogy and teaching methodologies, curriculum advances, and other important issues shaping discussions on quality education, learning improvements, future learning, health and wellness, among others.

GESS Dubai’s exhibition component, meanwhile, will continue to showcase the very latest products, services and solutions covering a broad spectrum of business categories – from books and uniforms, to gadgets and technologies as well as furniture that can significantly impact the delivery of instruction, improve student learning and performance, enhance teacher effectives.

“These exchanges not only contribute to business growth, but ultimately have an impact on raising education standards and developing the education market in this part of the world,” added Thompson.

This year, GESS Dubai will have over 550 suppliers representing 39 countries, with several country pavilions grouping exhibiting suppliers from the U.K., Germany, U.S.A., Korea and China.

GESS Dubai is also thrilled to provide attendees a brand new and exclusive training concept to the event this year. The GESS Leadership Lab, powered by NoTosh, has never before been seen in the Middle East, Africa and Asia and will provide a creative training space where active participants can tackle their own leadership challenges with NoTosh’s innovative tool kits.