More than 30 top speakers from around the world, including ministers, CEOs and leading academics will take part at the first Transforming Education Summit (TES), being hosted by the Abu Dhabi Education Council (Adec) next month.

The event, from May 7 to 9,will be held under the patronage of General Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, and chairman of Adec.

The conference will attract prominent government, business, academic, and civil society leaders from around the world, and offer them a platform to share lessons learnt on how to deliver relevant education to young people more effectively in a rapidly changing global society.

The summit, to be held at the Emirates Palace, will feature an outstanding line-up of keynote speakers, including former UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown, former President of Finland Tarja Halonen, Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Education Muhyiddin Yassin, former Irish Minister of Education Mary Hanafin, CEO of Mubadala Khaldoon Khalifa Al Mubarak, and leading scholar of educational change Andy Hargreaves.

The event will be moderated by Tim Sebastian, the renowned facilitator of the Doha Debates and former BBC presenter.

Delegates will cover topics such as defining society’s needs for education, the leader’s role in managing the transformation journey, efficiency and funding of education, and engaging key stakeholders (government entities, educators, students, parents, and the private and philanthropy sectors).

TES uniquely focuses more on the ‘how’ than on the ‘what’ of education reform, since research shows that most transformation efforts fail due to challenges in the process of change itself, said a statement.

Dr Mugheer Khamis Al Khaili, Adec’s director general, said: “The aim of TES is to address how educational change can be implemented across sectors in societies around the world. The conference delegates are all ‘transformation leaders’: people who are in a position to lead change in their respective areas, from government to the private sector. Over the two and a half days of the summit, these leaders will share knowledge and strategies, collaborating and offering their experiences of best practice in their own education systems for the benefit of all.”

TES is hosted by Adec in partnership with the Directorate of Education of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), leading global management consulting firm Booz & Company, and the Advanced Technology Investment Company (ATIC), the technology investment arm of Mubadala.  – TradeArabia News Service