EEF, UNESCO, UNICEF teams up with education partners to launch the 'Regional Conference on Teachers and Equitable Education: All for Education in Southeast Asia'

BANGKOK, Oct. 29, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The Equitable Education Fund (EEF), UNESCO, and UNICEF Thailand have joined forces with education partners, the Ministry of Education, Princess Maha Chakri Award Foundation, SEAMEO (Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization), and Save the Children in running the "Regional Conference on Teachers and Equitable Education: All for Education in Southeast Asia" to bring together ideas and reflections from the whole region. The event is slated to take place online on Friday 29 October 2021 at 8.30–16.30 and Saturday 30 October 2021 at 9.00–16.30.

The first day sees the 4^th Princess Maha Chakri Award Ceremony 2021, with HRH Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn presiding the opening ceremony and delivering a special lecture on Her Royal Highness's endeavour to provide educational opportunities for children and juveniles in the face of COVID-19, and to reinforce the development of teachers as well as educational institutions across Southeast Asia.

"The COVID-19 crisis is a turning point in global education," Dr. Krissanapong Kirtikara, Chairman of the Princess Maha Chakri Award Foundation and Advisor of Governing Board, Equitable Education Fund, Thailand, said of the conference's purposes. "Educational systems are now mired in exponentially widening inequality gaps. The conference is therefore meant to set off the collaboration between networking partners in advocating and building a new paradigm towards equitable education, restoring learning to affected students, and empowering the teachers, who are key to equitable access to education in the middle of the current crisis."

Interested parties are encouraged to join in with renowned academics from around the world in discussing and exchanging views and opinions with an aim to quickly reduce educational inequality, bring learning back to all students, and tap into the potential of all teachers. The sessions include:

• Mr. Lee Yan Kheng (Director, Professional Development Branch of the Academy of Singapore Teachers), on new perspectives regarding systematic support for the teaching profession, and solutions for "the year of learning loss".
• Ms. Lurdes Rangel Goncalves, a teacher from Timor-Leste and a Princess Maha Chakri Awardee in 2019, on her teaching experiences in remote, mountainous areas.
• Dr. Sadat B. Minandang, a teacher from the Philippines and a Princess Maha Chakri Awardee in 2019, on teaching ethnic minority children in war-torn areas resulting from clashes between the government and local minorities.
• Dr. Pamela Cantor (Founder and Senior Science Advisor, Turnaround for Children), a child and adolescent psychologist from the United States, on how the US promotes equitable education through teacher professional development.
• Dr. Marita Neitola (University Lecturer in Department of Teacher Education in Rauma, University of Turku, Finland), on the exchange of expertise in developing "social-emotional learning" for modern education.
• Mr. Tomio Ikoma (President and CEO, With us Corporation and Principal of Daiichi Gakuin High School, Japan), on Japan's strategies in boosting the capacity of teachers around the country.

Prominent academics and attendees from leading organizations worldwide are coming together for a variety of topics. To take part in steering the history of global education amidst the challenges posed by the pandemic, registration for the the 4^th Princess Maha Chakri Award Ceremony 2021 and the "Regional Conference on Teachers and Equitable Education: All for Education in Southeast Asia" on Friday 29 October 2021 at 8.30-16.30 and Saturday 30 October 2021 at 9.00-16.30 is now open at https://afe2021.eef.or.th/.