Invitation to the SCO Forum and Teacher Competition in the framework of the CONNECT 2.0 Online International Conference (December 13, 2023)

This year’s iteration of the CONNECT online conference – “CONNECT 2.0 – Combine Online Novation and Networking for Education Catered by Technologies” – is dedicated to the topic of skills development in schoolchildren and TVET students. The second day of the conference – December 13, 2023 – will focus on the issues, breakthroughs and challenges of skills development with the help of ICT and / or AI exclusively in the countries of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, namely, China, India, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan.

​CONNECT 2.0 will summarize knowledge and experience sharing on the use of ICTs and AI in educational settings with the purpose of fostering the development of skills deemed indispensable for the coming decades of the 21st century in the abovementioned countries. For this conference, the following skill sets are in focus: 

• ​Green Skills   
• ​Skills to Ensure Equality and Inclusion  
• ​Digital Economy Skills   
• ​Leadership Skills 

The conference can be of particular interest to school teachers (ASPnet and beyond), TVET teachers, education administrators, university departments and academic communities studying education policy and practice. They are encouraged to register for the conference and for the forum and to engage in discussions to highlight diverse approaches and perspectives on skills development with the help of advanced technologies.

PROGRAMME ELEMENTS

SCO Forum round tables:

a number of round table discussions will be arranged which will cover the following topics:

– Digital and online educational environment: the advantages are obvious but what are the challenges?

– Digital skills: what are the ways to improve the knowledge about specialized software among teachers and learners?

– Missed opportunities: how to more fully use the educational potential of everyday digital environments?

*If you are interested in contributing to the round table discussion as a speaker, please contact Ms. Tatiana SHUTOVA (t.shutova@unesco.org) by 25 November indicating the specific round table topic you would like to discuss in depth.

Pre-Conference Teacher Competition:

The pre-conference competition takes place on October 30 – November 19 November 25, 2023. The teachers are requested to record videos to participate in one (or more) of the four nominations illustrating how they make use of information and communication technologies and AI tools while fostering certain sets of skills in their pupils. The nominations are:

1) Digital Teaching and Learning to Advance Green Society

2) Skills to Ensure Equality and Better Inclusion in Education

3) Facilitating Digital Economy Skills Development in Schools

4) The Role of ICT in Developing Leadership Skills

The competition will be judged by a jury, consisting of representatives of HEDU, UNESCO IITE, Europass Teacher Academy, and other organizations. The award ceremony will take place during the SCO CONNECT 2.0 Forum on the second day of the conference.

The prizes include a week-long study trip to Malta (courtesy of Europass Teacher Academy; the trip is free for the winner) in the beginning of 2024, and prizes from the sponsor, Huashi Education Group; all participants who will send the videos for the competition will get the certificates of participation in the pre-conference competition signed by UNESCO IITE and HEDU.

Please send the videos for the Teacher Competition to Ms. Tatiana SHUTOVA (t.shutova@unesco.org) by 19 November 25 November, inclusive. Please make sure to give permission for viewing the video!

The Forum programme is to be published in mid- to late November on this page.

​The working language of the conference is English. The videos can be shot in the native language of the teacher / of the instruction but in this case the English subtitles are a must.

More information about the SCO Forum and the Pre-Conference competition (including technical and other requirements for the videos as well as the criteria) is in the attached Concept Note: in English CN_CONNECT 2.0 – SCO countries_fnl  and in Russian: CN_CONNECT 2.0 – страны ШОС_fnl

Watch this video to acquaint yourself with the pre-conference competition information, requirem