8 Countries meet at SSAEM Conference to share the achievements of a decade of APTE
After 3 years since the outbreak of Covid-19, approximately 150 people gathered including officials from the Ministries of Education of eight countries, embassies in Korea and teachers.
On November 24, the 2022 SSAEM Conference to review and share the performance of teachers and schools participating in the 「Asia-Pacific Teacher Exchange for Global Education (hereinafter referred to as APTE or the Programme)」 was held at the Conrad Hotel in Seoul, South Korea.
(Clockwise from the upper left, Ms. Ji-Young Park--Director General of the Korean Ministry of Education, Dr. Hyun Mook Lim--Director of APCEIU, H.E. Theresa Dizone-de Vega--Ambassador of the Philippine Embassy in Korea, and Mr. Ganbayar Ganbold--Vice Minister of Ministry of Education and Science of Mongolia)
This conference, marking the 10th anniversary of the APTE, started with opening remarks by Ms. Ji-Young Park, Director General of the Korean Ministry of Education, followed by a welcoming speech by Dr. Hyun Mook Lim, Director of APCEIU, and congratulatory address by Mr. Ganbayar Ganbold, Vice Minister of Ministry of Education and Science of Mongolia, H.E. Theresa Dizone-De Vega, Ambassador of the Philippine Embassy in Korea, and Ms. EK Vongvathany, Charge d’Affair of the Royal Embassy of Cambodia in Korea.
The Panel Discussion session was held in the morning for representatives of each partner country to look back on the results of the online APTE this year, and share opinions on the mid-to-long-term vision of the Programme.
In particular, Mongolia and the Philippines, the two partner countries that have been part of APTE since 2012, the first year, reviewed the objectives and outcomes of the Programme since it was first implemented 10 years ago and shared future plans to continue forward in a more progressive manner.
In the afternoon, concurrent Best Practice Presentation sessions were held to share this year's online APTE achievements in detail and introduce various follow-up activities of teachers from South Korea and seven Partner Countries who participated in the Programme over the past decade.
(Clockwise from the upper left, Ms. Namjildorj Khongorzul, teacher from Mongolia, Mr. Keomoukda Kattiyavong, teacher from Lao PDR, student presentation team from Daejeon Samcheon Middle School, and student presentation team from Zion High School)
(Clockwise from the upper left: Ms. Siwarin Sae-heng, a teacher from Thailand, Mr. Frewendi, a teacher from Indonesia, Ms. Sunkyung Kim, a teacher from Korea, and Mr. Mohd Al Khalifa bin Mohd Affnan, a teacher from Malaysia)
In particular, students from Zion High School and Daejeon Samcheon Middle School, who conducted the Programme with Malaysian and Cambodian schools, respectively, presented with teachers Ms. Diana Alui Daniel and Ms. Rotana Prum. the Daejeon Samcheon Middle School studenst performed a traditional dance of Bornean region and a debate the students had with SMK Merapok students about whether Palm oil plantation should be maintained or not. Zion High School, which partnered with Hun Sen Angsnuol High School in Cambodia, presented various campaigns on Global Citizenship Education(GCED) topics initiated by students themselves, such as zero waste and media literacy, followed by a flash mob dance performance.
In the second concurrent presentation session, various methods and contents of follow-up activities such as establishing a network of teachers to spread GCED, opening an online journalism platform on GCED and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), thus providing practical information to teachers seeking for follow-up activities.
Mr. Mohd Al Khalifa bin Mohd Affnan, Malaysian teacher who was invited to Korea in 2017, said, "I was motivated by my mentor teacher at Seoul Technical High School and his active educational exchange activities. Since then I have decided to become an inspiration to other teachers as well."
Thereafter, representative teachers from each partner country and a Korean student held a live talk to share stories showing photos about their vivid memories of APTE experience.
Lastly, representatives of participating teachers in the second half of the online APTE and Follow-up Activities Exchange Programme PLANETS (Promote Linking Alumni on NETS) received Certificates of Completion.
The Asia-Pacific Teacher Exchange for Global Education, hosted by the Ministry of Education of the Republic of Korea and implemented by APCEIU, has steadily expanded to 7 Asia-Pacific partner countries (Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Mongolia, the Philippines, and Thailand) in 2022 since it was first launched in 2012.
All events held on this day can be viewed again on the SSAEM Conference official website.
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