Her Majesty Queen Rania Al Abdullah gave a moving speech at the second Teachers Skills Forum on 6 December 2015 in Jordan, referring to the pivotal role of teachers, and describing their profession as “sacred.”
Hosted by The Queen Rania Teachers Academy (QRTA), the event united more than 1,000 participants from across the Arab region and represented a wide range of education-related roles. 50% of the event was delivered in Arabic and 50% in English.
Jordan’s online news agency, Petra, reported Her Majesty as “Expressing her worry about the current state of the world,” and about “the dark and difficult times the Arab world is living through”. Addressing the audience, Her Majesty asked: "What are the factors that generated this dark ideology in our midst?" and described teachers as the solution to the problem saying: "The answers to the most difficult test of our times are not in books or texts, nor in forums or conferences. The answers lie in you. […] Even after the victories of armies and their weapons prevail, teachers are the ones that will abort extremist and dark ideologies from spreading in society. You are the first line of defence in our fight to defeat the enemies of humanity."
Dr George Rupp, Chair of the IB Board of Governors, was honoured to speak at the event and took the opportunity to thank Queen Rania: “[Her Majesty] has been invaluable in encouraging and sponsoring outstanding educational ventures throughout Jordan and across the region. In particular, I congratulate her on the development of this Teacher Academy, which is an indispensable forum for teachers in the entire region.”
Referring to the IB’s mission, Dr Rupp said: “The IB is dedicated to making the world a better and more peaceful place for all of us. […] At the core of this dedication is the development of personal values that include a commitment to communities beyond the preoccupations of individual learners as well as an understanding that includes awareness and respect for multiple cultures. Never has our world needed this dedication more! Europe and the United States must learn that attempting to impose modern secular values on other traditions worldwide—in particular, individualism, as it has developed in the West—is a prescription for disaster. We as teachers must work together to register, to emphasize, to underscore that fact.”
Queen Rania has been an advocate of the IB for some time and her two daughters have both followed an IB programme. Following a meeting with Queen Rania in 2014, Adrian Kearney, Director of the IB for Africa, Europe and Middle East, Kearney said: “The relationship between QRTA and the IB is vital for growing and sustaining the IB in the region. Her Majesty Queen Rania Al Abdullah of Jordan has been central to the success of our collaborative efforts and the essential ongoing developments of professional development for IB teachers in Arabic.”
The IB’S Chief Academic Officer, Dr David Hawley, also spoke at the event. Watch both Dr Hawley and Dr Rupp speak in this video.
Find out more on QRTA’s website in both English and Arabic and watch Her Majesty’s full speech in this video.
