SEAMEO-TTF-UNESCO IITE Launch Action Agenda to Improve Competencies of Teachers and Learners in Disadvantaged Areas

Monday, 30 August 2021 | Piyapa Su-angavatin

Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization
Mom Luang Pin Malakul Centenary Building, 920 Sukhumvit Road, Bangkok 10110, Thailand
Tel: +66(0) 2391-0144 I Fax: +66(0) 2381-2587
Email: secretariat@seameo.org I URL www.seameo.org

PRESS RELEASE

SEAMEO-TTF- UNESCO IITE Launch Action Agenda to Improve Competencies of Teachers and Learners in Disadvantaged Areas

 

30 July 2021 - SEAMEO, International Task Force on Teachers for Education 2030 (TTF), and UNESCO Institute for Information Technologies in Education (IITE) join hands to develop the Action Agenda for Improving Teacher Competencies at the virtual 2021 High-Level Forum on Teacher Competencies in the Digital Revolution: Reaching the Unreached.    

To address the enormous challenges of teachers and school heads during the COVID-19 pandemic, the collaborative High-Level Forum aims to examine the solutions to ensure learning continuity; discuss national and regional solutions to address the barriers to inclusive education and the digital divide; share innovations during the pandemic in promoting learning continuity in disadvantaged schools that can be replicated or scaled up; and, discuss policy reforms to enhance teacher competencies in the digital age.

The virtual forum is participated by over 1,500 participants, consisting of High Officials, and teachers from Southeast Asian countries and member countries of the International Task Force on Teachers for Education 2030.

The forum highlights sharing of experiences and best practices in three themes: 1) Teachers ICT Competencies during Emergency: Lessons from the Pandemic, 2) ICT Support for Teachers and Learners in Disadvantaged Context, 3) Remote Education and Learning Continuity Models.  

Over 15 invited speakers of the Forum include policy makers and experts from SEAMEO Member Countries, SEAMEO Associate Member Countries,  Affiliate Members, SEAMEO Regional Centres, and TTF Member Countries such as Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, the Kingdom of Morocco, Bhutan, China, France, Japan, Norway, and Russia.

The key output of this event is the Action Agenda that calls for cooperation among the TTF Member Countries, SEAMEO Member Countries, and partner organisations in the following key areas with the aims to prepare the teachers and learners amidst uncertainties and challenges:

1. Investing in teacher’s capacity building and professional development in areas of distance learning and digital technologies in education;
2. Supporting the teacher workforce especially those assigned to the most difficult and remote areas by promoting relevant support, training and incentives, for them to fulfil their duties and functions;
3. Creating a policy environment for teacher well-being, motivation, and support, especially in the most disadvantaged contexts and during this time of pandemic; and
4. Providing access to hybrid and distance learning programmes to enhance teacher competencies in the digital era.

The forum has also provided participants with a collection of good teaching practices of new normal pedagogies, innovation for reaching the disadvantaged, as well as a collection of Open Educational Resources on Teaching Tools for the marginalized learners.

More information:
https://www.seameo.org/Main_programme/283

To view the session by YouTube:  
https://link.seameo.org/webinar/HighLevelForum2021