World Leaders Gather for the Transforming Education Summit 2012

ADEC Director General HE Dr Mugheer Khamis Al-Khaili and former UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown address inaugural event

ABU DHABI, UAE, May 8, 2012 /CNW/ - The Abu Dhabi Education Council (ADEC) officially launched the inaugural Transforming Education Summit (TES) in a bid to address the need for change in education across the world. Under the patronage of His Highness General Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, and chairman of ADEC, the summit will assess how to deliver relevant education in a rapidly changing global society.

To view the Multimedia News Release, please click: http://www.multivu.com/mnr/53817-ADEC.

The summit at the Emirates Palace from May 7-9, comprises a series of keynote speeches, panels, brainstorming sessions and case studies from around the world.

The event was opened by H.E. Dr. Mugheer Khamis Al-Khaili, ADEC Director General.

Dr. Al Khaili said: "If anyone had any doubt of the essential value of education to any society, Abu Dhabi's journey over the last decades would assure them. At TES, we look forward to sharing our experiences our international counterparts, and are very eager to hear about different education transformations that have been implemented across the globe that may help achieve our goals."

Former UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown was joined by Andy Hargreaves, a global authority in education transformation, in the first keynote session of the summit, entitled "Thinking Ahead".

The second keynote was by Mary Hanafin, former Irish Minister for Education and Science (2004-2008); John Dennehy, Ireland's ex-Department of Education and Science Secretary (1998-2005), and addressed the summit on 'Delivering Within'.

May 9 will begin with a keynote by Tarja Halonen, the President of Finland ( 2000-2012) and Muhyiddin Yassin, Malaysia's Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Education on 'Leading Across'. H.E. Eng. Ziad Al Siksek, CEO of Health Authority Abu Dhabi will tackle the issue of how leaders must engage the private and third sectors.

TES is hosted by ADEC in partnership with the Directorate of Education of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), leading global management consulting firm Booz & Company, and the Advanced Technology Investment Company (ATIC), the technology investment arm of Mubadala.

Booz & Company will compile a post-conference report in partnership with ADEC containing the recommendations from the sessions. A series of working groups will meet over the next year to discuss global challenges.

Video: http://www.multivu.com/mnr/53817-ADEC

Gregg Fray: [phone], [email protected], Yazan Neme, [email protected]