[ Events Calendar | TA Networking Events | Associates' Day 2004 | Past Events ]

Thinking 'out of the box'
By Ann Claypole, ELTAS - Germany

The Conference in Brighton was heralded by the arrival of the Associates' representatives on Easter Monday. As usual, the first opportunity to network was presented at the Associates' Dinner, although there was no formal program this year. The day preceding the conference proper was then devoted to Associates' Day.

The Day was slightly overshadowed by recent political events and some would-be visitors from Asia were unable to attend due to travel restrictions. As a result, fewer Associations were represented than usual. Nonetheless, the day turned out to be very successful. This was largely due to the involvement of the British Council, who organised the morning's events. The theme of the day was 'Best Practice in ELT' and this topic was introduced by Jeremy Jacobson of the British Council ELT Group. Jeremy emphasised the importance of networks and networking and the pointed out the similarities in the objectives of ELTECS and other teachers' associations. He stressed the importance of thinking laterally and opening up to the challenges of new ideas and new technology. This idea of thinking "out of the box" was developed by Dilek Hancioglu from Turkey and Marina Tevzaia from Georgia , who described the work and regional networking of local teacher's associations. Some aspects of their work go well beyond the field of ELT into the field of civic education. The presentations took the form of springboard discussions which stimulated a variety of lively contributions and led to an exchange of ideas among representatives from around the world. The ideas shared ranged from cultural discussion groups in Macedonia and Japan through drama in Slovakia and Scotland to the use of mentor systems for guiding new teachers both in schools and in teachers' associations. One idea which could be of interest to other Associations is the concept of Open House Activities as practised by GELI in Cuba . Here events are hosted by the companies or institutions in which the members themselves work. In addition to being very economical to the association concerned, this provides a platform for promoting and disseminating information about the host organisation and facilitates networking among teachers.

Part of the afternoon was devoted to IATEFL organisational matters affecting the Associates, including the Wider Membership Scheme, which supports members from less affluent countries, and to the question of how links between the Associates and the IATEFL office and Committee can be improved. In recent years the relationship between the Associates and IATEFL has been on the wane and several members used the occasion to air their grievances. The Associates are now represented through a member of the Committee of Management, Margit Szesztay of Hungary , who is organising a think tank to get things moving again. The afternoon ended with five smaller discussion groups who wanted to go into more detail on some of the topics raised in the morning session.

All in all, it was agreed that the British Council contribution was extremely fruitful, that there is a lot of common ground, and that this type of collaboration should be continued. Thanks are due to Paula Jullian of Chile for guiding the proceedings smoothly through the day.