Athena Fund Named as Member of UNESCO’s International Task Force on Teachers for Education 2030

Athena Fund recently was appointed as a member of UNESCO’s International Task Force on Teachers for Education 2030. Athena Fund is the first non-governmental organization in Israel to become a member of the task force. Following Athena’s joining the task force, Uri Ben-Ari, President and Founder of Athena Fund, was invited to the task force’s annual meeting, which was held December 8-11 in Dubai.

Ben-Ari participated in discussions and presented Athena Fund and its activities to fellow participants from other countries and member organizations. Among others, Ben-Ari met with: Dr. Eugene Mutimura, Minister of Education of Rwanda; Adam Seldow, Director of Education Products Partnerships, Facebook; Monica Ares, Strategic Partnerships Manager, Innovative Technology in Education, Facebook; Amy Hansen, Commercial Category Strategy and Planning Director, Microsoft; Brooke Macomber, Worldwide Windows Commercial Category Sales Management – Investments and Programs, Microsoft; Harb Bou-Harb, Senior Director, Education – Middle East and Africa, Microsoft; and Tolga Keser, Commercial devices category director middle east and Africa region Microsoft.

The task force, which operates within UNESCO, was founded in 2008 following the UNESCO’s Oslo Declaration. The declaration called for governments to map their short- and medium-term needs for recruitment, deployment, training and retention of quality teachers. The recommendations called for supporting national efforts to deal with the shortage of teachers, and for providing support to cover associated costs. Toward that end, the Oslo Declaration approved the establishment of an international task force for teachers and the education of all.

The vision of the International Task Force states that teaching should be a valued profession, and should be taught to all students by qualified and motivated teachers within systems with efficiently managed resources. To achieve this vision, the Task Force works to mobilize governments and other stakeholders to promote teachers and quality education, and serves as a catalyst for global, regional and national efforts through support, knowledge creation, collaboration and engagement.

The Dubai Task Force meeting also included the 12th Policy Dialogue Forum. Within the framework of the Forum, discussions were held on various topics including: how changes in thinking related to learning objectives and expectations regarding teacher skills affect teaching; how to ensure that future teaching will reduce gaps; which innovations might support the teacher's new roles, how to use new sources of expertise and skills, and other topics.

Dr. Edem Adubra, UNESCO’s Section Head for Teacher Development and Head of the International Task Force on Teachers for Education 2030, upon the marking of Athena Fund’s 12-year anniversary recently said "We share the vision of Athena Fund that recognizes education as critical to achieving a better world and sustainable development goals. Equally, we applaud Athena Fund’s efforts to empower teachers through enhancing their digital skills for connecting with modern technologies in order to facilitate better teaching and learning.”

“The appointment of Athena Fund as a member of the International Task Force is a badge of honor for the Fund, and yet another example of the great interest generated by our activities among international bodies,” said Ben-Ari. “We will share our knowledge and experience with the Task Force for the betterment of teaching and learning around the world.”

In addition to its membership on the Task Force, Athena Fund has special consultative status from the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC). Athena Fund is also a member of the International Council for Open and

Distance Education (ICDE). Moreover, Uri Ben-Ari has been invited to lecture about the success of Athena’s programs at a number of international conferences.