Dubai: Expo 2020 to celebrate International Day of Education with stellar line-up

The stellar line-up of events to be held on Monday, January 24, includes journeys and opinions from sector leaders in different organisations, including talks by UNESCO representatives and diverse voices of experts, educationists, and students.

A connection with the Knowledge and the Learning week that was held earlier at Expo 2020 and International day of Education is also being established to enrich the day's experience. Awards will also recognise distinguished teachers and educators on this day.

Dr Amna Al Dahak, Assistant Undersecretary for Care and Capacity Building Sector said, "the Ministry of Education thought this is an ideal platform, to think together what are the things that we need to celebrate on this day. It will include all the voices of all the stakeholders to make the educational journey and experience successful for everyone."

She added students are the main drivers for the future and are the main forces who will fulfil the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for 2030.

"Students will be voicing opinions of many other students around the world by contributing to those discussions," she later opined.

Reflecting on Covid-19 and how it has proved to be one of the major accelerators in the history of development in many areas, including education, Al Dahak says, "In education it has shown us that we should be prepared to transform education to different models at any point of time. In many countries we have seen students struggling to catch up with the learning gaps; we have seen teachers struggling to deliver the educational experience and the emotional and mental support to their students. One major lesson learnt is that we don't have to wait for another accelerator. We must think and find ways to make education more available and accessible for everyone in any situation."

"While developing the content or agenda for the international day of education we've been thinking what are the other accelerators that we should consider before they are imposed on us. So, the discussions will revolve around transforming education into the future in a different way with different delivery models. Additionally, it'll reflect on the flipping of the roles between educators, learners and parents who became very active during this time."

Concurring with her co-panellist, Stefania Giannini, UNESCO Assistant Director-General for Education says, "The pandemic has really highlighted the role of teachers."

"We realise a screen cannot replace teachers in their crucial role in a dimension which is simply not about the transmission of knowledge but also social and emotional dimension of learning. The pandemic also created awareness about the importance of teachers and to translate the importance of the teaching profession into an action plan which is about teachers' training and to include these in public policies."

Additionally, throwing light on the UNESCO's Global Education Monitoring Report 2020: Inclusion and education: all means all, Giannini, points out, "We have to enhance our capacities to work together. This report sheds light on the role of the educations systems in the far future, to reimagine education from now to 2050, to be able to visualise school systems in 20-30 years. The report is intended as an invitation to provoke a debate."

"The International Day of Education at Expo 2020 will be based on the topics provided as a cue for discussions. It's an invitation to rethink the main systems of relationship between a child, relationship with the planet while caring for it and the relationship with digital technology. These different dimensions help to shape the future of education," she added.