Global education and training institute — Geti — hosted 13th Ed Leadership Roundtable Conference, themed ‘The Power of Change, Inspiring the Teacher Within,’ starting January 21 to 24, virtually. The chief guests of the conference over the four days were Rajnath Singh, Minister of Defense, India; Dr Kiran Bedi, Lt Governor, Puducherry; Dinesh Sharma, Deputy Chief Minister, Uttar Pradesh; Anil Swarup, Former Secretary Education, MHRD;Yogesh Kumar, IAS, Deputy Commissioner, Mnrega; and Anurag Tripathi, Secretary of Central Board of Secondary Education.
In 14 roundtables over four days, themes most crucial to education were discussed especially in the wake of India’s New Education Policy. Despite major differences between participating countries, more than 80 speakers and participants from 50+ countries deliberated on themes such as NEP, innovative education, service leadership, wellness, Edtech, and more.
Shaping discourse
The virtual conference has been attended by 19,000 school founders, principals, and aspiring teachers on three platforms — Zoom, Facebook and YouTube. It witnessed with 4,334 unique school heads and educators in the Zoom Room. There were many notable educational leaders who took this as an opportunity to reflect upon the need for a forward-looking, research based, holistic education system that can help every child succeed in line with India’s New Education Policy.
Some of the most notable leaders of the education industry from across the world included Todd Nesloney from Texas; Advocate Raoman Smita from Bangladesh; Dr Ruby Bakshi Khurdi from Switzerland; Charity Limboro from Kenya; Thom Markham from the UK; Tashi Chonjur from Bhutan; Ricardo Dominguez from Mexico; Martin Richards from Sweden, and many more, taking the participation to 50+ countries.
Redefining education post-Covid
This year’s conference’s agenda were the most pressing challenges of our times. The global health crisis has compelled education systems across the world to challenge existing paradigms in education. Just like our health sector will have to re-build itself post the effects of Covid-19, our education system also needs to re-imagine, re-structure, and re-create new shifts and transform education as we know it. This conference was all about the strategies and processes required to do so.
Dr Sunita Gandhi, Founder, Geti
The woman behind Ed leadership Conferences, Dr Sunita Gandhi, shared, “Ed Leadership has been known for its power to bring together policy makers and practitioners from all over the world under one roof and create a revolution in our thinking about education and in our implementation of new changes. The conversations that take place at Ed Leadership are the most critical conversations needed in education. We need transformation and not incremental change. We aim to inspire the teacher within every individual, creating deeper and more meaningful relationships, linking education better to life’s purpose, and setting and meeting new standards.”
The conference ended with a vote of thanks by Dr Bharti Gandhi, founder and director of City Montessori School, world's largest school and recipient UNESCO price for peace education.