African EduWeek to Inspire Teachers and Educators in July: from Sex Education to School Finance to E-Learning and Maths

Johannesburg, South Africa, June 18, 2015 --(PR.com)-- “Teachers and educators inspire and motivate learners and students on a daily basis. At African EduWeek we give teachers the opportunity to be inspired and gain new knowledge with free-to-attend educational training and development, with topics ranging from sex education, to school finance to e-learning and the challenge of teaching maths in schools.”

So says Tanya Jackman, event director of the ninth annual SABC Education African EduWeek, which is expected to gather more than 3500 teaching professionals and more than 120 local and international exhibitors from 1-2 July at the Gallagher Convention Centre in Midrand.

“This year the theme of African EduWeek is ‘Enter a world of educational knowledge,’” adds Tanya, “and we invite all teachers to join us for more than a hundred hours of free-to-attend EduTheatre sessions and teacher training workshops – focused on the daily challenges and topical developments that they face in their basic and higher education classrooms.”

Visitors at the event will also be able to view the latest products and services for the education sector in areas that include basic education, IT, higher education, publishing, inclusive education, science and maths, safety and security, sustainability and energy efficiency and school supplies and stationery.

“Bringing new energy into schools”
The South African Principals’ Association (SAPA) has joined the event as an official supporting body this year. “At this year’s EduWeek we will focus on innovation for principals where we will share new ideas,” says Marius Ehrenreich, President of SAPA.

He adds: “We will have an opportunity to have many, many teachers together and so this presents us with a wonderful opportunity to network, to share and what better place to share best practice than with such a large audience of teachers.”

EduTheatre session highlights at African EduWeek include:

--The birds and the bees
Getting sex education right: what South Africa urgently needs to do in its schools. In a country heavily affected by HIV, and with teenage pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections high among adolescents, the discussion will focus on what the country should be considering in sexual health programmes.

Speaker: Francois Venter, Deputy Executive Director, Wits Reproductive Health and HIV Institute

--Finding finance for educational institutions
This session will look at the various case studies from NGO schools to TVETs who have have succeeded in finding finance.

Speaker: Devang Vussonji, Global Leader, Employment and Education practice, Dalberg

Educational institutions represented on the panel:
- Streetlight Schools – Innovative low-cost schooling model based in Johannesburg
- Ikamva Youth – After-school support program that started in Cape Town and is now scaling up
- Syafunda – Mobile learning solution growing rapidly throughout South Africa
- Knod Learning – Global tertiary/vocational training program growing rapidly across Africa

--Inclusive and special needs education
This session will look at look at what the notion of belonging is, and of what inclusivity really means in South Africa’s schooling system and how teachers can adopt a collaborative approach.

Chairman: Sharon Rowe, Principal of Footprints Special Needs School

Speakers:
- Reinette Popplestone, Chairman, HEDSA
- Shakira Akabor, Inclusive Education specialist, School of Education Witwatersrand University
- Ntombi Caga, Lecturer, University of Fort Hare
- Musa Zulu, Creative Director, Valhalla Arts

--Best practice in school leadership - leading with innovation
The presentation will focus on a snapshot of current school leadership practice, the key elements that enthuse, motivate and inspire staff, learners and parents, and how new and innovative systems thinking can transform a school.

Speaker: Marius Ehrenreich, President, South African Principals Association

--SA ranks its mathematics second last in the world
South Africa’s mathematics statistics reveals a gloomy look into the harsh realities of the poor results produced by thousands of students each year. This session aims to create new legislations, which will be passed on to government though the discussions lead by a expert panel and the audience feedback.

Chairman: Jo Besford, curriculum coordinator, Greenshoots Education

Speakers:
- Andrew Einhorn, CEO, Numeric
- Daryl Williams, Managing Partner, Ingeneum
- Edzai Conilias Zvobwo, Chief Genius, MathsGenius Leadership Institute
- Sharanjeet Shan, Executive Director, Maths Centre

--E-learning: “so I have a smart board and tablet, now what?”
This session will focus on the current technology trends in education and on how teachers can benefit from the newest developments in the e-learning world. One of the problems of e-education remains the under-utilization of classroom technologies.

Speaker: Kobus Van Wyk, Head of E-learning, Mustek

--“The first year is too hard”
The high dropout rates of first year university students are a cause of concern. This session aims to look at why students are not prepared with the large knowledge gap from high school tertiary education, and the measures needed to put in place to bridge the gap.

Speakers:
- Adam Habib, Vice chancellor, Witwatersrand University
- Thokozani Mathebula, Lecturer, Witwatersrand University