Doha is set to host the 20th Annual iEARN International Conference and 17th Youth Summit which will be held at Qatar National Convention Centre (QNCC) from July 1 to 6.

Being staged in the Gulf for the first time since it began in 1994, the iEARN (International Education and Resource Network) conference will see around 500 teachers and students from more than 50 countries gathering in Qatar to share ideas and learn how technology is being used in classrooms.

“By hosting the iEARN conference in Qatar, we will make history as the first country in the Gulf to hold the event,” Rota executive director Essa al-Mannai said yesterday.

“This year marks the 25th anniversary of iEARN and we look forward to commemorating this milestone by making it the most successful conference of the network,” he added.

The non-profit iEARN is made up of over 30,000 schools and youth organisations in 130 countries. iEARN empowers teachers and young people to work together online using the Internet and other communications technologies.

Reach Out To Asia (Rota), which is the official representative of the iEARN programme in Qatar, announced that RasGas would be the conference’s Golden Sponsor, Qatar Vinyl Company its Bronze Sponsor and the Supreme Education Council its official partner.

The theme of this year’s conference is “ICT for Education: Reaching Out, Building Bridges”, focusing on the use of technologies in education to reach out, learn and build a better world together.

Topics like environment, cultural diversity and the use of information and communication technologies (ICT) in the classroom will be taken up at the conference.

It is open to all educators and students already involved in iEARN as well as those interested in the field of ICT for Education. The conference programme will offer eight plenary sessions, two panel discussions and more than 90 workshops and presentations. In addition, there will be an exhibition for students and teachers to showcase their projects or give presentations about their cultures.

Al-Mannai said: “Rota has assembled world-renowned speakers such as Dr Essam Heggy, Dr Mohamed Ally, Peter Copen, Dr Judi Harris and Julie Lindsay to address the conference. They are pioneers in their field and their speeches will be a defining moment for every educator and student present at the conference.”

Since its launch in 2008, the iEARN programme has reached 95 schools, 411 teachers have been trained and 1,442 students have participated in projects.

http://www.gulf-times.com/qatar/178/details/357406/delegates-from-50-countries-to-attend-doha-conference

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