Thank you for joining us at the first ever IB IberoAmerica Conference, in Bogotá, Colombia!
This historic gathering of educators and administrators from the International Baccalaureate (IB) community has been an unforgettable experience of learning, networking and inspiration.
We are proud to say the conference brought together over 500 attendees from 24 countries.
This conference was particularly special as it was the first ever held entirely in Spanish and Portuguese. It was profoundly moving to see the IberoAmerica community come together, celebrating our shared language and culture while advancing our educational goals.
The event’s overarching theme, “Inspiring learners, realizing potential”, provided guidance in enlivening youth inquiry and equipping us as educators to maximize the potential of every young person we encounter.
Opening day
On the opening day, we were treated to an incredible student performance, Popurrí Colombiano, performed by students from Gimnasio El Hontanar.
Dr Rolando Andrés Roncancio Rachid, president of the conference venue, Universidad de La Sabana, Bogotá, followed with a welcome speech.
We then welcomed our first keynote speaker, Roy Harley, who delivered a truly inspiring address. He sought to convey what he experienced not only in the Andes, but also during his professional career and experience in rugby. Through his message, we remembered that we all have a mountain range to overcome.
We look back on his speech with the quote, “In life you need to suffer a little to appreciate what you have instead of staying focused on what you lack.”
Watch highlights from the opening day below.
Second day
The second day kicked off with four blocks of breakout sessions. These sessions covered a wide range of the most relevant topics for IB educators and the larger global community today. From educational technology and innovation to inclusive education and well-being, learning and teaching to leadership, the breakout sessions offered abundant learning opportunities suited to the interests and needs of every attendee.
Breakout session highlights included the following:
How the IB is identifying educational trends and engaging with them—Presented in Spanish by Alexandra Francesconi, Primary Years Programme Curriculum Manager at the IB. This session discussed how the IB is committed to proactively engaging in educational trends to support our schools and foster programme change. Alexandra highlighted how the IB is delivering on this commitment and explored the current trends we are investigating and the role our community plays in supporting our understanding.
Empowered spaces for inquiry to promote student agency—Presented in Spanish by Bárbara Eileen Hernández Kelso and Maria Yrene Quevedo. This session presented practices and strategies for designing empowered inquiry spaces and learning experiences so that teachers can foster agency in their students. Bárbara and Maria invited attendees to step outside the traditional framework and consider diverse designs to open up new perspectives on the subjects and learning opportunities.
Broadening horizons: The synergy between artificial intelligence and ATL in education—Presented in Portuguese by Vitor de Moraes Zamarion. This session successfully showed the correct use of artificial intelligence tools for designing activities and reflections involving the use of approaches to learning (ATL) in the classroom. Vitor reflected on the role of AI in education and inspired attendees to explore the various possibilities that this technology has to offer.
The second day concluded with an exciting celebration dinner hosted at the Andrés Carne de Res restaurant.
Closing day
The closing general session started with a wonderful performance, Colombia Calidoscópica performed by students from Colegio Minuto de Dios Siglo XXI.
Following our student performance was the Festival of Hope panel, which centred around fostering inspiration, community and action. We heard from thought leaders Maria del Pilar Robles Rodriguez, Alejandra Fernandez, and alumnae Isabella Boquero and Gabriela Galvis. The panel was moderated by Dr Maripé Menéndez.
The Festival of Hope’s purpose is to create safe spaces for young people to come together and have a voice that inspires action. During this discussion, we learned how we can turn fear into hope, build bridges and make an impact in areas that need change.
We invite you to learn more about the Festival of Hope here.
We then heard from our final keynote speaker, Dr Cristóbal Cobo. Dr Cobo is a senior specialist in education and technology, an associate at the University of Oxford’s SKOPE (Centre on Skills, Knowledge and Organisational Performance) and a Senior Fellow for the Inter-American Dialogue’s Education Program. He is the founder and former director of the Ceibal Foundation’s Centre for Studies. A renowned speaker, Dr Cobo has presented in over 30 countries and has been recognized by major media outlets such as CNN, Deutsche Welle and Le Monde.
We remember his compelling presentation with the quote, “Can we automate cognition? Does it make sense to teach skills that machines can perform? The future is already here, technology offers us an ‘external brain’ and it is key to reflect on how to transform the world of education.”
Watch highlights from the closing day below.
Attendees can log in to the mobile app to download session slides that have been shared by presenters.
The IB IberoAmerica Conference, Bogotá, has been a significant milestone in our journey towards excellence in education, while connecting the IberoAmerica community. We extend our heartfelt thanks to all attendees, speakers and sponsors for making this event a resounding success.
See you at the IB Global Conference, New Orleans 2025!
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See social media highlights here.
