News: Chemonics Presents at CIES 2016

What are the goals and responsibilities of the field of international education? How can best practices be shared and scaled across countries with very different contexts? The 2016 Annual Conference of the Comparative and International Education Society (CIES), which takes place March 6 – 10 in Vancouver, tackles these questions that span the topics of education, governance, technology, culture, and social progress. During this week, educators, policymakers, designers, and development partners come together to discuss a wide variety of challenges and opportunities in the field.

Chemonics is proud to take part in CIES 2016 and share its experience working on education programs in Pakistan, the Republic of Georgia, Afghanistan, and Zambia at the following sessions (all Vancouver local time):

Strategies for Literacy: This session, at 8 – 9:30 a.m. on March 7, features Chemonics’ Paata Papava sharing lessons learned and methodologies from a primary education project in Georgia.

Integrating Gender into Education Projects: On this panel, at 3 – 4 p.m. on March 7, Jill Meeks of Chemonics and a representative from RTI International present on the role that gender assessments play in tailoring education programs to local contexts.

Education in Conflict and Emergencies: Assessment and Policy Directions: In this session, at 8 – 9:30 a.m. on March 9, representatives from the Sindh Reading Program present on the use of formative assessment tools in Pakistan to regularly track student learning and adapt teaching practices.

Strengthening Student Performance through Data and Effective Education Management: Lessons from STEP-Up Zambia: In this panel, at 4:45 – 6:15 p.m. on March 9, representatives from Chemonics present on using learner performance tracking tools to quickly gather important data.

Conducting EGRA in Conflict Zones: Challenges, Lessons Learned, and Looking Ahead: This panel, which takes place at 11:30 a.m. – 1 p.m. on March 10, features Chemonics’ Nathan Storey and Mark Lynd discussing the unique opportunities and challenges of working with schools in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Programming in education is now more critical than ever to help teach and empower tomorrow’s leaders and innovators. Building foundational skills of literacy, numeracy, and life skills has a lifelong impact, and events such as CIES provide a dynamic opportunity to share diverse perspectives that will shape these activities.

“CIES is the most important conference in the international education space and is a great opportunity for Chemonics to showcase our work,” said Jill Meeks, director of the Education and Youth Practice. “We get to hear about the latest research and bring lessons and ideas back to our projects and also have the opportunity to network with partners from all over the world.”

For more information about specific sessions during the 2016 Annual Conference of the Comparative and International Education Society, look through the full conference program here. And be sure to follow the social media conversation during CIES on March 6-10 using #CIES2016.