The experiences and insights gained by VVOB in its partner countries tremendously enrich the Belgian education sector. With programmes eNSPIRED, SchoolLinks, and Educaid.be, VVOB builds sustainable bridges between education professionals and schools across borders – founded on equity – to learn from each other about common equal access to education-related challenges. Given that travel and conferences were not an option in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, international cooperation worked somewhat differently than the usual run of events.
This story is featured in our 2020 annual report Blended learning: the future of education?. You can download the full report here.
eNSPIRED: multilingualism, a shared narrative
VVOB’s eNSPIRED programme inspires teacher trainers, school leaders and (future) teachers through international talks on equity in education. Belgium could learn a lot from how VVOB’s partner countries approach their educational challenges. eNSPIRED and its partners – the Belgian university colleges and educational networks – introduce and embed educational practices from other continents into the Belgian teacher training curriculum, as well as in teacher and school leadership training courses.
International talks were held in 2020 through a digital learning week dedicated to multilingualism in education, a topic about which there is no shortage of things to be said. As a result, there are plenty of new challenges and insights to be considered – not just in Belgium, but all over the world. And that is why over 450 teacher trainers, (future) teachers, and school leaders from all over the world participated in eNSPIRED’s first ever digital learning week.
Participants met every morning from 17 through 26 November to converse with speakers from various organisations, such as UNICEF Vietnam, Funda Wande, ChildFund Vietnam, CPUT Cape Town, Brussels Education Centre, Artevelde University of Applied Sciences, VIVES University of Applied Sciences, and Odisee, for an hour and a half. As hostess, Hanan Challouki, kicked off the opening session via live stream. There were talks on multilingualism and education in Vietnam, South Africa, and Belgium, three countries with three different contexts but with a host of common challenges. In her keynote, Anh Phuong Ha (right), Top 10 finalist of the 2020 Global Teacher Prize, stressed the importance of the role of teachers.
In the days that followed, participants were able to deepen their knowledge and understanding, and gain new inspiration during themed Zoom sessions, featuring even more speakers from Vietnam, South Africa, and Belgium. They shared their expertise on developing learning materials, reading for meaning, and professional development. After all, how can you learn a language without stories and books, or without well-trained teachers? The digital learning week rounded off with a live stream closing session in which various lessons learnt were shared. Kira Boe of Oxfam Ibis gave a closing keynote in which she stressed how essential multilingualism in education is to achieving Sustainable Development Goal 4 (SDG 4) – quality education. By prioritising multilingualism in education, we ensure greater equity and a higher quality of education.
“The keynotes and exchange confirm that in whatever context you work, there are a handful of universal principles that apply: a language policy and approach cannot be imposed from the top down; creating a robust language learning environment is always essential; all stakeholders must be taken into account; beliefs and convictions are relevant; context determines a lot; there is no place where every language shares the same status; identity and emotions play a role in language acquisition and must be taken into account”, said a participant in the online post-assessment.
Anyone who was unable to attend or missed a session can rewatch the entire digital learning week on www.enspired.net.
Educaid.be: inclusive education in Belgium’s international development cooperation
As a platform for structured dialogue for Belgian development actors working in the field of education and training, Educaid.be assists in developing and supporting the Belgian policy as well as improving the quality of Belgian education programmes abroad.
The peak of the Educaid.be year is its international conference. Educaid.be brought together over 600 education professionals in 2020 at a digital conference entitled ‘Inclusive Education. Every learner matters – and matters equally’. Inclusive and equitable are keywords in SDG 4’s phrasing: ‘Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all.’
Participants gathered from all over the world virtually, on 15 and 22 October, to reflect on how every child, regardless of gender, economic status, ethnicity, religion, language, disability, etc. can gain access to quality education. Naturally, the conference focused on the pandemic’s impact on education and how school closures were affecting the development of children and youth. Fifteen speakers from twelve different countries, including Dr Kwame Akyeampong (Open University, UK), Michelle Mathey (Department of Higher Education and Training, South Africa), Kira Boe (Oxfam Ibis), Subekshya Karki (Humanity & Inclusion, Nepal), shared their experiences and insights and engaged in dialogue with the participants. Meryame Kitir (right), the Belgian Minister of Development Cooperation, concluded the two-day event with a message on the importance of cooperation and international solidarity.
Anyone who was unable to attend or missed a session can (re)watch the complete conference proceedings on the Educaid.be website.
One of Educaid.be’s key objectives is to support member organisations (and the public at large) by providing education-related expertise. In this context, Educaid.be organised a smaller-scale webinar with VET Toolbox, a partnership dedicated to promoting inclusive vocational education. The VET Toolbox partnership consists of the British Council, Enabel, GIZ, LuxDev, and AfD. It organised a series of webinars on specific topics related to inclusive vocational education. Educaid.be contributed to one of these webinars in November 2020 with the topic ‘Labour Market Analysis: which kind suits your situation?’ featuring keynote speakers Kevin Hempel of Prospera Consulting and Caroline Mancel of Actiris, as well as testimonials from the field, including from Haiti and Niger.
The complete webinar can also be accessed on the Educaid.be website.
Members of the ‘Gender and Education’ project group also partnered with Le Monde selon les Femmes on a publication that pleads for a reduction of or amendment to the ingrained practices that generate and reinforce inequalities. They study the impact of a gender-specific approach at different stages of life and how they affect these learning environments, from formal to informal education, and from pre-school to adult education.
SchoolLinks: learning from each other across borders
SchoolLinks facilitates meaningful, sustainable partnerships between Belgian schools and schools abroad. Its primary focal point is developing global citizenship in Belgian teachers and school leaders.
Over 40 teachers, school leaders, and educational organisation employees from six different countries participating in a school link met virtually in November 2020. It was an online exchange in which they discussed how the SDGs are prioritised in their school link and how to continue exchanging theory and practice online during a period in which exchanges in person are less feasible.
SchoolLinks also used its website to share tips on how schools can keep their relationship with their partner school alive, digitally. What’s more, incorporating an international perspective into (online) classes helps students develop global citizenship and intercultural skills.
