Bringing education into the 21st century at Abu Dhabi International Book Fair

Developed in response to feedback from the 2008 ADIBF and themed 'How to bring thinking out of the box into 21st Century classrooms', the conference will feature some of the most internationally renowned innovators in the field of contemporary education.

The education sector in the Middle East is faced by a variety of logistical, practical and strategic challenges. Books have long played an important part in fostering inquisitive, forward-thinking minds, and publishers have a significant role to play in addressing the region's greater education debate. 'The Education Chapter' seeks to provide a strategic vision of the future to serve as a focal point for the sector to aspire to, while rectifying its more immediate issues.

Emirates Foundation is sponsoring 100 places for Emirati teachers, and the conference is expected to be attended by over 400 delegates in total, including teachers, school principals, government representatives and parents. Over the course of the two days, Arabic and International publishers will have the opportunity to present their products to key decision makers in the educational sector.

Claudia Kaiser, General Manager of Kitab said, "Many of the challenges facing education are similar to those facing the publishing industry, such as a lack of research and available statistics about the industry. The Education Chapter will set a solid platform for intelligent dialogue about the key issues and challenges facing educators worldwide."

Top of the agenda is the question, 'How do we prepare students for a future we can't quite picture, jobs that haven't been thought of, technologies that have still to be invented and problems that haven't yet arisen?'

Ziad Azzam, CEO of Taaleem commented, "We are experiencing a revolution in 21st Century education that affects the international community enormously. Here in the Middle East, it's particularly critical, as the rapid speed of development in recent years has opened up all sorts of opportunities and choices. One of the key questions for education providers is how to harness the best international educational practises without sacrificing cultural identity. With this in mind, The Education Chapter has been structured to deliver an opportunity for everyone to join this high-level debate."

The line up of exceptional educational pioneers delivering speeches and workshops at The Education Chapter includes Sir John Jones, Dr. Samia Al Farra, Ian Gilbert, Birgit Ertl and Ute Hachmann. Local media celebrity Ali Alsaloom will also enrich the wider debate by sharing the lessons learned from his own myriad experiences.

Dr Samia Al Farra, keynote speaker at 'The Education Chapter' agrees, "The challenges to educators in our region are social, educational, economic as well as political. While the government is addressing some of the more practical issues, in my speech I'm calling for reflection, resilience and taking more responsibility for action at the policy makers', principals', teachers', students' and parents' levels. The challenges are many as the variables are immense."