The IB is organizing the second world virtual conference, Asia-Pacific, with the theme “unlocking the next paradigm”. Francesco Banchini, the CEO and Director of the European Azerbaijan School, will deliver two presentations focused on leadership and how to enhance the IB programmes.
Participants will explore the different ways of how leaders respond to a future with uncertainty both in terms of technological advances, increasing scarcity of resources and unforeseen events. Divergent thinking must play a vital role; thus, schools have a responsibility towards nurturing creativity, inquiry and risk-taking, as highlighted in the IB learner profile. These qualities should permeate the whole community; from students, parents, teachers to leaders. As educational leaders, we need to consciously consider how to lead by embracing divergent thinking and creativity. In this session, we explore how we can proactively enhance our whole community’s creativity and nurture their ability and desire to think divergently.
We all need to be inquirers and risk-takers, as embodied within the IB learner profile, rather than confining these attributes to our students. As leaders, we can shy away from nurturing these attributes, as with them, they bring a level of disorder and chaos. Thus we need to rethink the role of the leader and give leaders the confidence to unlock this potential in those they lead.
The second session is focused on the interconnected nature of our global community. The schools are facing more and more situations in which intercultural understanding and respect for other cultures and identities are essential. Interdisciplinary learning offers a rich opportunity to explore both similarities and differences between different cultures and thus understand each other in a more meaningful way. The active interaction of the workshop will explore the key concepts, communication, communities and perspective, through the lens of different cultures, giving numerous practical ideas of how these can be developed.
Given the great uncertainty that we face as a global community, we must forward-plan with creativity and adaptability in mind. Interdisciplinary learning affords us a high level of focus on skills-based learning and open-minded problem-solving to address learning experiences in different ways. In this way, it is clearly aimed towards our next paradigm. In addition, the very nature of interdisciplinary learning requires, and should, in fact, celebrate meaningful collaboration.
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