EAA launches new digital teacher training modules in Arabic through the acclaimed iEARN programme
The Education Above All Foundation (EAA) foundation, through its ROTA programme, unveiled the results of a new Arabic language iEARN digital teacher training programme at its annual award ceremony and exhibition of school projects.
iEARN is a non-profit organisation that provides an online platform for teachers and young people to collaborate on finding solutions to global issues such as intercultural exchanges and the environmental impacts of carbon footprints. EAA has been leading iEARN in Qatar since 2008 and during the Open House, the foundation unveiled its digitized version of a teacher professional development course in the Arabic language which was implemented earlier in the year, enabling access in a number of Arabic-speaking countries, including in Lebanon, Yemen, Egypt and Tunisia.
“By transforming the iEARN Teacher Professional Development Programme into a digital Arabic e-training, a large number of Arabic-speaking teachers in Qatar and the region have been able to continue to grow their skills and knowledge no matter where they are and despite barriers to education imposed by political and economic turmoil and the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Abdulla Al-Abdulla, Executive Director of ROTA programme.
Teachers from Egypt, Lebanon, Tunisia, Yemen and Qatar have so far taken part in the digitized Arabic language training, and EAA plans to continue providing e-courses for educators, with the aim of reaching more teachers and students in crisis-affected countries where access to quality education is severely limited.
In addition, students from Lebanon, Yemen and Qatar presented their iEARN projects dedicated to improving the health and welfare of the planet and it peoples via video link at Tuesday’s event. The iEARN projects, all linked to a UN Sustainable Development Goal (SDG), included “My identity, Your identity” and ‘Our carbon footprints, our future.”
“I am also delighted to see how the iEARN-Qatar programme is empowering young people to act as compassionate global citizens and contribute to positive change in their societies, from reflecting on their identities to exploring how to reduce their carbon footprint. Through EAA’S leadership, iEARN is achieving its mission of empowering students and teachers to learn by sharing best practices and lessons with each other and learning with the world, not just about it ”, added Mr. Al-Abdulla.
Under the leadership of EAA’s ROTA programme, iEARN-Qatar has been voted as one of the 25 decision makers for the global iEARN network spread in 140 countries, and has been represented in the iEARN Executive Council. To date, more than 15,000 students have collaboratively implemented iEARN projects under iEARN-Qatar. Moreover, in 2020 iEARN was selected as one of the school models of the future by the World Economic Forum.
