Much still to learn...

It may be a wrap for this blog, but it is definitely not a wrap for the issues we have talked about. The convergence of more than 2,000 participants from over 100 nations who attended the three-day DW Global Media Forum to discuss “Culture. Education. Media – Shaping a Sustainable Future” was testimony for me that this discussion just got started at another level.

For me as a media professional with a background in education, it was interesting to see around 500 colleagues in media, including bloggers, meeting with policymakers, businesspeople, academics and representatives of civil society organizations to share their experiences and ideas.
The role of individuals, organizations and governments in propelling more inclusive, better quality education for all was a topic I enjoyed reading on, discussing and learning more about including during the conference. I believe in trying out solutions and implementing them – not just talking about them. But I feel like I have more to talk about now. Educational issues jump out at me more than before. Newspaper articles, discussions among friends, news on TV: Everything seems to have something to do with education, thanks to writing the blog.

Well, it is bye-bye for this blog, and I hope that the discussion will be carried on offline and online. I plan to continue my work with youth, training them to use media to tell stories – including on educational issues.

I also intend to further my education and pursue a PhD, most likely in information and communications technology as well as in development, as these are issues that I am passionate about. Perhaps I will start a new blog soon about research, media and education in the near future.

Hellgurd, Emmy, Gaby from DW, Kathrin and me

Reading Pavel’s last entry as well as the one where he discussed the value of a degree, I’ve been thinking, too, about the value of studying foreign languages. It’s not just about new grammar and vocabulary, or being able to translate from one language to another. From my view, the value of doing so has more to do with learning how to express your ideas in a different culture – through a different perspective and perhaps in a context that helps everyone broaden their views. At the Global Media Forum, I met a number of people who serve as good examples of what I mean.

Simon was one. We met randomly at a table and introduced ourselves to each other. When I told him I’m from Buenos Aires, he said he had been there and liked it a lot, and that he actually speaks Spanish. When I asked him about his professional background, he told me about an initiative called Vensenya, a name made up of two Spanish words: “vencer,” which could be translated as “conquer”, “defeat”, “break”; and “enseñar,” which means “teaching.” The word “vencer” is particularly significant to Spanish speakers, especially in Latin America, considering its historical associations with political struggle and combat. Vensenya is about breaking down dogmas in our approach to education. The concept that their creators came up with can be grasped in a snap. This is not just a question of speaking another language. It shows how understanding another culture can find its expression in language.

At the DW headquarters in Bonn

More often than not, in the context of international dialogue, you find that concerns are shared across borders. Education systems pose challenges in every country. What differs is the social context and the historical path of each nation.

In this entry, I have touched on all of the things that made me enjoy writing this blog so much. On the one hand, it has been a struggle on many occasions. Putting societies in context and accounting for cultural nuances is hard. But on the other hand, it has been greatly satisfying throughout.

Many cultures and colors: one goal

Traveling over long distances can be exhausting, but sometimes it can be also rewarding depending on the comfort of the flight and the route. As I returned home from the Global Media Forum, I had over four hours to wait for my flight from Germany to Nairobi. I took advantage of those long hours to read some newspapers.

Even though I was not looking for articles on education, all the newspapers I read touched on this topic, reminding me that it is an issue that affects all areas of our life. Articles in a German publication and in a publication from the Gulf region that I read took up the same questions of culture and education.

The German publication stressed the importance of German institutions becoming more international so that Germany can produce excellent students and scientists able to compete on a global platform. My father would agree. He encouraged us to attend schools beyond our home area. His thought was that by living in these cultures, we would learn some soft skills beyond the subjects taught in class, such as intercultural communication and tolerance of people different from us. He, therefore, was happy to let me study in Germany with others from more than 10 other cultures. I described this before as a ‘global classroom.’ The article proposed that more universities in Germany should have a strategy to internationalize themselves. I think Germany has already started this, taking an example of the master’s program I did, which was not only composed of international students and teachers but was also taught partly in English and in German.

Globalization at our finger tips

The other article from a publication in Dubai posed the question: Who are internationally educated children? The publication asserted that children benefit from stepping outside of their own culture. Globalization and its effects on education and on life in general demand from us that we extend our knowledge beyond our horizons. The so-called ‘international students/learners’ are more tolerant of different cultures, races, religions, opinions, and, as such, may be less prejudiced. Even later when they start working, they are more marketable on the job market, as multi-cultural skills are one of the strengths that international companies look for.

In Kenya, there are just a few international students, either on exchange or learning English from China and Turkey. I think the low number is mostly the result of doubt about the quality of education here. Kenya also needs a strategy to internationalize its education system – especially at the universities – to make it attractive for international students and professors.

People like to talk up new technology in education, but there is a catch...

On Wednesday, the third plenary session of the DW Global Media Forum focused on education as the milestone for sustainable development. Denis Goldberg, a social activist from Cape Town, South Africa, argued, “The focus of education should shift to sustainability because we depend on it.” Doing so requires taking action on issues including overpopulation. One of his suggestions for limiting population growth was expanding social safety nets. By doing so, people move away from the idea that having children is the only way to ensure a stable future.

I thought to myself that he was right. However, the entire debate seems to be missing something. The other speakers at the plenary each discussed how to get young people – teenagers and children – more interested in education, in terms of everything from reading habits to new media and new technologies applied to education. That is all well and good, but from my point of view, we must not forget the basics of personal development. In a poverty-stricken region, if a child does not go to school and is not getting an education anywhere else, it is probably because he is also not well fed.

Aside from the basics, we need to consider what kinds of opportunities we are providing people. Professor Barbara Ischinger (Director, OECD Directorate for Education), presented three stages in maximizing the use of skills educators try to impart: in the short term, putting skills to use; in the mid-term, training in different skills; and in the long term, developing relevant skills according to each country’s economy. Her presentation was very relevant to the NGO where I work. We are developing a new online platform aimed at vocational education. The objective is to provide information on different career paths with a focus on science and the energy industry. One of the discussions we have is whether or not to include training programs for specific skills, since we want teenagers to feel encouraged to take the university path.

Traditional educational outlets, like libraries, got less attention at the conference

The truth is, though, young people these days often need to start working at an earlier age in light of their lacking economic stability (if they have any at all). Another presenter spoke about permeability –the idea that a person could start in a vocational training program and then later be given the chance to continue their studies in a university. Employing people, giving them skills, is the foundation of economic security, and these prospects must be in place for higher education to work.

We have a tendency to overlook some elementary problems when thinking about educational strategies. One of the conference speakers, Verashni Pillay (Online Deputy Editor, Mail & Guardian, South Africa) nailed the main problem in clear words: “Let us get the basics down before we bring in another futuristic view of education.”

Emmy, María, Hellgurd and I during the boat tour on the first evening of the GMF

After having spent three days at the Global Media Forum, my feelings remind me of those after a class trip or a big festival: I’m very exhausted but at the same time all wound up.

Emmy, María, and I have already talked a little about the discussions and workshops we participated in. Our entries show how different the workshops were. Some topics actually appeared to be too complex to be discussed in depth within 90 minutes. But I’ve got a lot of food for thought out of all of them; I’ve discovered new organizations, approaches and people. For example, the pupils Isabelle van der Valk and Hendrik Rösler who go to the Christophorus School for physically impaired children in Bonn. Their school organizes an awesome exchange program with a Tunisian school for kids with handicaps. This program enables the German students, on the one hand, to smell the salty air of the Mediterranean and the Tunisians, on the other hand, to see Germany at least once in their life.

Besides the vice principal of the German school, the president of the organization UTAIM El May, which the Tunisian school belongs to, and a Tunisian teacher were in Bonn. They had come directly from the Tunisian island Djerba to Germany. Isabelle and Hendrik have done the trip before – to Tunisia and back again. Isabelle especially liked the Medina, the ancient town. Hendrik had a lot of fun during the bus trips: “It was pretty cramped in the small bus. But we all got closer to each other on the way.”

Vice principal Jürgen Hammerschlag-Mäsgen talked about reciprocal learning: In Tunisia, he discovered that a German method of construction had been used there. His colleagues have shown him ways to prepare his students for the regular job market. Without special workshops for the handicapped, Tunisians have to find other kinds of work for their graduates. “With little resources, we’ve got to think of new ways and be creative,” said Rabiaa Ouerimi, teacher in El May, thus showing a striking difference between Tunisia and Germany: Her school doesn’t get governmental funding except for the teachers’ salaries.

Jürgen Hammerschlag-Mäsgen from the Christophorus School

The children profit a lot from the program, too: They get to know a new culture, practice English and can do exceptional things – such as picking olives in wheel chairs. And, of course, media plays a role in the exchange, too. Via Skype, the kids establish and keep contact with each other. They send e-mails with texts and pictures. And, as teenagers, they stay connected via Facebook, of course.

This project showed me again how important the commitment of individual persons is. If the teachers hadn’t put so much energy into realizing their dream of a German-Tunisian exchange program, it probably would have never come true. To reach this aim, collecting donations and filling out grant proposals was decisive, but also convincing parents. In the beginning, many were skeptical about the program, Ouerimi says. But in the tenth year of the cooperation, people can see how good of an opportunity it is. Now parents come and ask to have their children participate. In Germany, the program is supported by ENSA, an organization that promotes educational exchange between Germany and developing countries for the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development.

I definitely want to talk with my friend Katharina about this program and about her opinion on Ms. Ouerimi’s statement that mentally disabled children are discriminated against at normal schools. I’m curious about Katharina’s opinion, as she is becoming a teacher for handicapped kids.