From the 8th to the 12th of April, the inaugural Teachers' Forum took place at the School for Europe in Parma, initiated by the Italian presidency.
The primary aim of this pioneering event was to order to exchange best practices on a European scale by convening representatives from the 27 Member States of the European Schools System, the European Commission, school leaders and (foremost) teachers from all European Schools as well as from national schools of the host country.
Nearly 200 participants, including the Secretary-General of European Schools and his deputy and a team from ESM consisting of School Director Anton Hrovath, Flemming Stie (Assistant Deputy Director Nursery & Primary), Václav Salvet (Main Educational Advisor Secondary School), Christophe Conot (Middle Manager), Flor Calado (teacher) and Christine Riesenhuber (teacher), attended the event, which featured panel discussions and introductory speeches from local and regional political figures.
The event commenced with a series of inspiring lectures delivered by experts on educational themes such as transformative inclusive education, education for sustainable development, plurilingualism and intercultural education, and the promotion of European values and democratic culture in the internationalization of school education. Following this introduction, an intensive afternoon ensued, during which participants had the opportunity to attend two workshops each, covering diverse topics such as the Utilization of Artificial Intelligence in Geography; Artificial intelligence and Entrepreneurship; Nursery education in winter; Storytelling through the Kamishibai method; School web radio; Citizenship education for future European citizens; Inclusion; The social and cognitive development of pupils with specific educational needs; Plurilingual and intercultural education; English as a foreign language to promote plurilingual and intercultural education; Biodiversity & Pollinating Insects; Active participation through the Project “Climate Council”.
Our colleagues from the sustainability team, represented by Mrs. Calado and Mr. Conot, showcased our SAFE-Academy and the KlimaRatSchule project in two workshops focused on active participation through the "Climate Council" project, which was among the twelve workshops selected for the event. The enthusiastic participation and collaborative spirit of the participants, alongside their discussions on implementing similar projects in their respective schools, made for an enriching experience. Based on the exchanges among teachers from various schools, it became evident that synergistic cooperation with external expertise, support from school leadership, and, crucially, the dedication of motivated teachers were pivotal to the success of such initiatives in our school.
The first day ended with a visit to the city of Parma, kindly guided by students from the host school, who on a voluntary basis, highlighted the most representative historical and cultural aspects of the city. An exemplary use of resources!
On the second day of the event, summaries of all workshops were presented by twelve rapporteurs, providing attendees with an overview of each contribution, and facilitating interactions with their authors, thus fostering further exchanges.
Concluding, the Scuola per l'Europa di Parma, our gracious host, exhibited excellent organisational skills, ensuring that every detail was meticulously attended to, while fostering a relaxed, inspiring, and convivial atmosphere. We hope that the next presidency from Cyprus will continue this tradition, providing regular opportunities for networking and fruitful exchanges.
