With great enthusiasm and a shared commitment to educational excellence, the ASEFClassNet Team welcomed over 150 teachers on the transformative journey of the ASEFClassNet17 School Collaboration on Wednesday, 24 April 2024!
The Welcome & Introduction Session served as the beginning of the participant teachers’ School Collaboration journey with inspiring welcome remarks, keynote remarks and project introduction.
The programme includes in total 250 teachers from across 36 Asian and European countries to unite in a spirit of collaboration and classroom teaching and learning innovation.
The session commenced with an inspiring welcome address by Amb Toru MORIKAWA (Executive Director, Asia-Europe Foundation). Amb Morikawa’s words echoed the very essence of ASEFClassNet project’s mission – to forge deep connections across borders, fostering mutual understanding and enriching the educational experiences of learners in Asia and Europe.
In his remarks, he gave 3 advice to the participants to successfully complete their ASEFClassNet17 learning journey:
“Advise 1: Be ready to fail fast! We have a Japanese saying:
“弘法も筆の誤り” (Kobo mo fude no ayamari) meaning “Even Kobo-Daishi, a very famous great monk known as one of the best calligraphers in the history of Japan, makes a wrong stroke in calligraphy. .”
The idea this proverb conveys is that everyone makes mistakes or encounters failures, regardless of their skill or experience. It emphasizes the importance of resilience, learning from setbacks, and persevering in the face of challenges without fearing too much the failure, which are essential qualities for fostering innovation. I encourage you to be creative with an open mind towards learning and continuous growth and give your best effort without worrying about failure.
Advice 2: Designing an Innovative Teaching Practice (ITP) is a core part of your training. Hence, I invite you to enjoy the process and carefully design your ITP with your peers with support and guidance from your mentor and the ASEFClassNet Team. Embrace the power of collaboration, be bold and take a risk to design a truly innovative teaching practice you and your students will love and benefit from.
Advice 3: Finally, please make friends and network with your peers. Learn about each other, support each other and stay connected to your peers as well as with ASEF. A connected brilliant, aware, dedicated educators’ community is a strong force to drive any kind of education innovation to the right direction.”
Read the full speech by Amb Toru MORIKAWA here: (link)
A highlight of the Session was the captivating keynote delivered by Mr Olli-Pekka HEINONEN, a visionary leader renowned for his transformative contributions to education as Director-General of the International Baccalaureate (IB) School and esteemed former ASEF Governor from Finland as well as the Former Education Minister of Finland. With unwavering clarity and insight, Mr. Heinonen delved into the crucial role of international teacher collaboration in navigating the digital transformation of education.
In an era marked by rapid technological advancements and dynamic shifts in learning paradigms, Mr Heinonen’s keynote illuminated the path forward, emphasising the imperative for educators to embrace collaborative innovation. He eloquently articulated how harnessing the collective expertise of educators across continents can catalyse the development of pioneering solutions, enabling us to adapt and thrive in an ever-evolving educational landscape.
Learn more about the project here: (link)