On 12-15 April 2017, the Moscow International Education Fair (MIEF-2017) – the largest event in the education sector of Russia, took place in Moscow for the fourth time. The event was organized by the Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation as a platform for sharing experiences and demonstrating innovative educational technologies and projects. The UNESCO Institute of Information Technologies in Education (IITE) participated actively in the preparation and activities of the education fair, as partner of the MIEF. The theme of the Fair was “The New Educational Ecosystem”. The program consisted of eight clusters covering all levels of Russian education system, from pre-school preparation to professional trainings. The first official discussion of the MIEF was the round table held by the media press center “Russia Today”, a week before the official opening, where UNESCO action plan in education for the period until 2030 (Education 2030) and other important issues in the MIEF framework were discussed. Mr. Tao Zhan, the director of the UNESCO IITE and the consultant of the Institute prof. Alexander Khoroshilov were active participants in the round table.
This year, the MIEF was held under the patronage of UNESCO for the first time. Starting from 2017, the MIEF officially contributes to the implementation of UNESCO action plan in education for the period until 2030. On April 13, IITE leaders took part in the central event of MIEF 2017 – the UNESCO Ministerial Panel held on the topic “Education as the Base for Effective Policy of Forming Children’s and Youth Resistance to Ideas of Radicalism, Extremism, and Violence”. The Ministerial Panel brought together representatives of Ministries of Education and governmental bodies of UNESCO Member States, and delegates from diplomatic missions in Russia. The forum featured speeches by Ms. Olga Vasilieva, the Minister of Education and Science of the Russian Federation, Mr. Qian Tang, Assistant Director-General for Education at UNESCO, and Ms. Olga Golodets, Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation.
On April 14, within the framework of MIEF, UNESCO IITE leadership organized the workshop “ICT and Education 2030: Extending Opportunities for the Lifelong Digital Education. Best Practices of the UNESCO IITE and Its Partners from the ICT Industry”. The event was attended by over 70 leading experts in the field of ICT in education, IITE partners, heads of educational institutions, teachers and students. Speakers in the seminar were IITE program specialists, representatives from the Belarusian Association of UNESCO Clubs, the Moscow State University of Pedagogy, the Center for Recreation and Health of Children “Sosnovy Bor” (The Republic of Sakha (Yakutia)), the Union of Volunteers and private sector partners – SVEGA-Computer Ltd., the Educational Holding “Prosveschenie”, Oracle Academy in Russia/CIS, DiGiS Group and the company JP Sa Couto.
The participants of the seminar were welcomed by Mr. Tao Zhan, the Director of IITE, Professor Alexander Khoroshilov, Ms. Ksenia Gaverdovskaya, Coordinator of Educational Programs of the Commission of the Russian Federation for UNESCO and Ms. Natalia Larionova, Executive Director of the project “Associated Schools of UNESCO” in Russia. The topics discussed during the workshop include the importance of building teachers ICT competency, digital resources and technologies at the future education, the digital education for violence prevention and promotion of peace culture in educational institutions, IITE and partners` projects. At the workshop, the new IITE project “International Digital Pedagogical Clinics” devoted to the development of ICT competence of teachers, students and their parents, was presented for the first time.
Throughout the four days of the MIEF, visitors had the opportunity to see the printed and video materials presented at the exhibition stand of the IITE and its partners – the UN Information Center (Moscow, Russia), Commission of the Russian Federation for UNESCO and SVEGA-Computer Ltd. (St. Petersburg, Russia), and to get information materials on the UNESCO action plan in education for the period until 2030 (Education 2030) and the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
For the active participation and contribution to MIEF events, the Institute received an honorary award from the organizers – the medal “For Contribution to the Development of Education”.
During MIEF 2017, IITE and other participants of the Fair were able to present their best projects and developments, to take part in the discussions of different problems related to the development of the modern education ecosystem and to share recommendation for their solution, to get acquainted with the latest educational technologies and to establish new business contacts. The Fair has become the main platform for communication and networking between representatives from various spheres and levels of education. Delegates from various countries, including thousands of specialists from leading Russian and international educational and scientific organizations, federal and regional ministries and departments, took part in the events of MIEF 2017. The Fair hosted over 400 exhibitors and received about 60 thousand visitors.
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