First IB Conference of the Americas a success

Visit the conference website to download a copy of the programme and presentations from many of our session presenters. 

The 2009 IB Conference of the Americas held in Québec City, brought over 900 participants from 22 countries together for the a genuinely tri-cultural conference around the theme, New Thinking for a New World. We thank all of you who were able to attend and participate.

Information from the conference:

• Visit the conference website to download a copy of the programme and presentations from many of our session presenters. 
• View the 2009 conference highlight video on the IB's Facebook fan page. 
• Stay tuned for video highlights and testimonials from participants posted on IBtv within the next month.

The conference kicked off on Thursday evening with Daniel Pink, author of A Whole New Mind and father of two IB students. Mr. Pink challenged the audience to consider the necessity of “artistry and empathy”, which he argues are the right-brain skills that are needed alongside left-brain logical thinking in today's economy.  

Noted psychologist JoAnn Deak continued the discussion of “new thinking” through the delivery of her general session, through which she proposed that the IB is the best educational fit to current brain research.  L. Gen, the Honourable Romeo A. Dallaire, author and former UN Force Commander spoke on Saturday, discussing children in conflict areas and empowerment through education, while professor and educator Isabelino Siede closed the conference on Sunday with a talk on citizenship education.

This year’s conference also brought hundreds of breakout presenters from inside and out of the IB community, a large number of graduate participants, and a powerful performance piece to the conference stage.  Leslie Lewis Sword, an IB graduate, performed Miracle In Rwanda, a one-woman play that she created to tell the incredible story of Rwandan genocide survivor Immaculée Ilibagiza.