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Dr Siva Kumari,
Director General,
IB (International Baccalaureate)
On 25 March 2018 you are going to kick off the International Baccalaureate (IB) Global Conference in Singapore. What are the main goals and outcomes you hope to achieve with the conference?
Our worldwide community of educators is known as a highly engaged group spread around 150 countries. Every two years heads of international schools from around the world host a conference. This year in Singapore we are combining this conference for school leaders with one of our annual global conferences – with a focus on our 50th anniversary. The goal is to have a chance to exchange highly progressive ideas on what’s working across the world in IB classrooms with teachers, pedagogical leaders, university faculty, and researchers from around the world. It’s high-energy.
What does the theme of the conference, "Shaping the Future", mean to you?
Every day, educators hold children’s futures in their hands. We hold this professional responsibility in high regard. We think constantly of how to “shape that future” – the future of the child, of educational changes needed, and of humanity in addressing through education how to develop the whole child to address the demands of today’s world, and the range of new, ever evolving solutions needed.
What does Singapore offer as a destination for your event?
Singapore is important to us for several reasons. The Singapore government has been very supportive of the IB. A wide variety of international and national schools in Singapore adopt the IB curriculum. Our first school here was authorized in 1977, and there are now 27 schools offering IB programmes in Singapore.
Singapore has been the home of our Asia Pacific office for years. And it is a city state that is a worldwide educational leader. It’s an easy flight destination given our worldwide footprint.
How do Singapore and its community benefit from the conference?
Singapore benefits from the presence of 1,700 committed educators who have come here to connect and who will go out and visit Singapore and all that it has to offer. We are very excited to be taking advantage of the new technologically superior Suntec Singapore conference centre.
Do you offer virtual attendance to those who cannot come?
Yes, the keynote speeches and breakout sessions will be filmed, so that those who are unable to attend in person this year will be able to view them remotely. You can also follow us and the conference on social media via #iborganization and #IBSG2018.
What are currently the main challenges for the IB as an organization, as well as for the conference?
Our opportunity is to ensure that the IB’s high standards in education are maintained as we go beyond our 50 years. This is ever more relevant in a world facing an unprecedented pace of change. 50 years ago, the IB’s original vision was to connect a globally migrating student and parent population with universities around the world by creating a world standard for teaching and learning. As the world takes globalization for granted, we will continue to ensure that our standards remain high and we’ll keep the IB’s mission alive in classrooms around the world.