March 26, 2021 – 10:00 – 11:00 – Manila Time • Register here.
Meet our Speakers:
Prof. Rupert Maclean, AO
Professor Rupert Maclean AO specializes in research and writing about educational innovation for development (EID) with particular reference to skills development for employability (TVET) in the Asia-Pacific region, Africa, and the Middle East. He has written or edited 25 books and numerous research reports and articles about various aspects of EID. He was Chief of the Asia-Pacific Centre of Educational Innovation for Development (ACEID), in UNESCO Bangkok (1993-2000), and Foundation Director of the UNESCO-UNEVOC International Centre for Technical and Vocational Education and Training (2001-2009) in Bonn, Germany. He has also held senior UNESCO postings in Myanmar and Paris.
Presentation Abstract: The presentation will examine the need to rethink approaches to substantially, and the content of, education and skills development for life and employability in light of the far-reaching impact of unprecedented disruptions caused by the recent COVID-19 global health pandemic and other emerging areas of disruption. It will outline key response mechanisms, in light of such disruptions, that will enable education and training systems to ‘build back better’ and enter a ‘new normal.’ The presentation also outlines fresh departures for promoting a new version of a learning society, with regard to education and training, in the context of these far-reaching and unprecedented disruptive changes, including COVID-19.
Dr. Max Walsh
Dr. Max Walsh is an independent education consultant who has worked continuously for the past 23 years on 38 different Australian Government, World Bank, Asian Development Bank, UNICEF, and UNESCO education development projects in Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Georgia, Japan, Kyrgyzstan, Lao PDR, Libya, Malaysia, Mongolia, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Singapore, Thailand, USA, and Vietnam. His current work in Cambodia, Kyrgyzstan, and the Philippines is focused on finding effective ways forward to maintain and boost student learning outcomes during the COVID-19 recovery.
Presentation Abstract: The COVID-19 pandemic has seriously disrupted most communities around the world, and after more than 12 months of living under drastically changed conditions, the on-going effects are now well-documented. All sectors have been affected in some way by the pandemic, and none more so than the systems for delivering formal education. Early Childhood, Elementary, Secondary, and Higher Education have all been impacted in major ways, and governments everywhere have struggled to respond to the interruption to teaching and learning that has disturbed the status quo. This presentation will not repeat the short-comings and issues within education systems that the pandemic has uncovered but will instead consider the opportunities that now present themselves to transform traditional models of teaching and learning into alternative approaches that are more relevant and meaningful for the 21st Century.
Moderator: Dr. Richard DLC Gonzales
Dr. Richard DLC Gonzales is the Inno-Change International Consultants, Inc. Concurrently, a Staff Consultant at the Asian Development Bank and a Fellow of the Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization (SEAMEO).
He is an accomplished global education professional with wide-ranging international operations and policy experience working at the country level in Asia-Pacific, Middle East, and Africa, and with global initiatives. A strong track record in leading international teams and analytical work, setting strategic direction, program design, portfolio management, and managing complex education and social sector programs, especially in student learning assessment, monitoring, and evaluation and TVET/skills development.
