Annual Conference

The SGIS Annual Conference at the Institut Florimont, 1213 Petit-Lancy
Friday March 24th and Saturday March 25th, 2023

Delegate Registration for the Annual Conference

Early bird registration for member schools by Friday December 31st, 2022 CHF 525
Individual Registration for Member Schools after December 31st, 2022 CHF 570
Registration for Non-Member Schools:  CHF 625

Closing date for Registration, Monday March 6th, 2023

Registration covers coffee breaks, lunch and Apero. The Apero will be held directly at close of afternoon sessions on Friday 24th March 2023. Please indicate on the registration form if you wish to attend.

Please pay your registration fee before March 13th, 2023 directly to: Swiss Group of International Schools, Banque Cantonal Vaudoise, IBAN CH68 0076 7000 L552 6865 2
Should you wish to pay by invoice please contact me directly (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.)

Terms and conditions (Please read carefully)

Please note that an administration fee of 75% will be levied on registration fees for any cancellation after January 13th 2023.

Disclaimer: Please be aware that by taking part in this conference, you consent to your voice, name and/or likeness being used without compensation, in films and photos for exploitation in any and all media, whether now known or hereafter devised, for eternity, and you release the Swiss Group of International Schools, their successors, assigns and licensees from any liability whatsoever of any nature.
SGIS endeavours to respect the programme as published. Any unavoidable changes to the programme due to unforeseen circumstances are unfortunate, but not subject to a refund.     

Please complete the registration form (Word file) and send it by email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Hot off the Press: NEASC ACE Learning 2.0

After five years of inspiring schools to transform themselves into 21st-century learning environments with ACE Learning 1.0,  NEASC is launching ACE Learning 2.0. in 2023. Join us to explore the refreshed ACE Ecosystem, and new resources and learn about key improvements.

Abstract:
ACE Learning 2.0, the latest version of our accreditation protocol which provides a framework for schools to envision the next steps in their evolution toward becoming a highly impactful, high-performing learning community. The presenters will share the new materials, highlight some of the key improvements and then lead the participants through several activities where they can explore the Learning Principles more deeply.  Learners will choose a few prompts and provocations from the Learning Principles and discuss them with individuals from other schools, modeling the internal reflection process used by NEASC schools.

Learning Objectives:
1.) Learners will be introduced to the new ACE Ecosystem 2.0
2.) Learners will explore one of the new ACE Learning Principles
3.) Learners will discuss several prompts and provocations from within the ACE Learning Principles and ground them in their own work.

How might participants translate your session into action to have impact in schools?
Schools that are engaged with NEASC and ACE Learning will get a sneak peek at the new ACE Learning 2.0 which will allow them to begin to plan for their future accreditation cycle.  Participants who are not at a school engaged with ACE will get a flavor of what ACE Learning is about and they may if they wish sign up for future training to become a NEASC visiting team member.

After a career as a Middle Years Programme and Diploma Programme teacher in various countries (Switzerland, China, United Kingdom), as well as a member of school leadership teams and as an author of educational books, Remy is now working as IB World Schools Senior Manager. This department was established in 2017 to support authorized schools in delivering quality education. The two main roles of the department are to be the voice of schools within the IB to advocate for their needs and to evaluate schools in a supportive manner to create opportunities for each school to grow. Rémy is there to support schools in their development and implementation of their IB programmes.

Après une carrière d'enseignant du Programme d’éducation intermédiaire et du Programme du diplôme dans divers pays (Suisse, Chine, Royaume-Uni), ainsi qu'en tant que membre d'équipes de direction d'établissements scolaires ou rédacteur d'ouvrages pédagogiques, Rémy travaille en tant que Responsable confirmé du Service des écoles du monde de l'IB. Ce département, créé en 2017, a pour mission d'aider les établissements autorisés à dispenser une éducation de qualité. Les deux rôles principaux de ce département consistent à être la voix des établissements scolaires au sein de l'IB afin de défendre leurs besoins et à évaluer les établissements de manière solidaire afin de créer des opportunités de développement pour chaque établissement. Rémy est là pour aider les établissements dans leur développement et leur mise en œuvre des programmes de l’IB.

Steven delivers mental health courses in French for pro mente sana since 2019. In addition to mental health promotion and prevention, he works in Lausanne as an independent sex therapist, sexual health counsellor and Breathing Coordination MDH practitioner.

Steven has Master of Arts, a Diploma of Advanced Studies in Sexual Health recognized by Sexual Health Switzerland, and a certification in Clinical Sexology and Sex Therapy recognized by the Swiss Society of Sexology.
Steven worked since 2019 on the adaption in French of the Mental Health First Aid courses (Adults, Youth, Managers) in Switzerland. He leads the French instructors training team and is an experienced instructor.

Internet links:
https://ensa.swiss/fr/premiers-secours
https://bienatoi.ch

Session/s

• Parlons de santé mentale !
  La santé mentale dans les écoles, l'ampleur du problème.
  Ce qui impacte la santé mentale des jeunes : mythes et réalité.
  Promouvoir la santé mentale dans les écoles : interventions fondées sur des preuves.
  Orienter vers une aide professionnelle : ressources de soutiens en Suisse.
  Soigner les soignants : prendre soin de soi n'est pas égoïste.
  Action collective : créer un réseau de soutien au bien-être dans la communauté SGIS.

Ayant grandi à Bruxelles et vivant en Suisse depuis plus de 13 ans, Jenny Ebermann est une Leader, Coach et Formatrice internationale, innovatrice et visionnaire. Ayant un bagage en sport, économie et management, Jenny travaille présentement en tant que Directrice Exécutive pour la Suisse d’une ONG mondialement reconnue.
Avec plus de 17 années de gestion efficace d’équipes multiculturelles, diverses et virtuelles, elle possède une expertise variée au sein de différentes entreprises et organisations, notamment dans le secteur public, en Organisations Internationales, ONGs et grandes multinationales (B2B/ B2C) dans différents pays et continents.
En tant qu’ancien Membre du Conseil d’Administration de l’Association Européenne des Approches basées sur la Pleine Conscience (www.eamba.net) et en tant que Membre active de l’Association MBSR en Suisse (https://www.mindfulness.swiss), Jenny est passionnée en ce qui a trait à la pleine conscience, la communication et le leadership au niveau local et international.

Dr Mecky McNeil is a British-qualified doctor and general practitioner, experienced in looking after adults and children with a range of mental illnesses, including anxiety, depression, eating disorders and schizophrenia, and caring for suicidal and acutely psychotic patients.

Part of the team at Pro Mente Sana since 2019, Mecky helped to developed the ensa Mental Health First Aid English courses for adults and youth in Switzerland. Mecky leads the English instructor training team and is an experienced instructor.

Mecky currently collaborates with UNICEF and Z Zurich Foundation on a global project aimed at supporting young people’s mental health.
 
Hyperlinks:
https://ensa.swiss/en/first-aiders/
https://www.unicef.org/partnerships/z-zurich-foundation

Session/s

• Let's talk about mental health
  Mental health in schools, the scale of the problem. 

  What impacts the mental health of young people: myths or fact?
  Safeguarding mental health in schools: evidence-based interventions. 

  Signposting to professional help: resources for support in Switzerland. 

  Taking care of carers: self-care isn't selfish. 

  Collective action: creating a wellbeing support network across the SGIS community.

Jessica Minahan, MEd, BCBA, is a licensed and board-certified behavior analyst, special educator, as well as a consultant to schools internationally (www.jessicaminahan.com). Jessica has over seventeen years of experience supporting students who exhibit challenging behavior in urban public-school systems. 

She is the co-author of The Behavior Code: A Practical Guide to Understanding and Teaching the Most Challenging Students (Harvard Education Press, 2012) and author of The Behavior Code Companion: Strategies, Tools, and Interventions for Supporting Students with Anxiety-Related or Oppositional Behaviors (Harvard Education Press, 2014).

Session/s

• Keynote: Practical Strategies for Reducing Anxiety and Challenging Behaviour in the Classroom
  With up to one in four children struggling with anxiety in this country, overwhelmed adults are in need of a new approach as well as an effective and easy-to-implement toolkit of strategies that work.
  Through the use of case studies, humorous stories, and examples of common challenging situations, participants will learn easy-to-implement preventive tools, strategies, and interventions for reducing anxiety, increasing self-regulation, accurate thinking, and self-monitoring in students.

Jenny Mosley is a national and international educational consultant, author and publisher. Based in the UK, with 45 years of experience in schools.  Jenny has developed her ‘Golden Model’ approach for Early Years and Primary, interweaving rafts of key ideas promoting staff and pupil wellbeing, listening systems, positive behaviour, school values and calmer lunchtimes and playtimes. With the aim of creating safe learning communities where all children and adults feel valued, respected and listened to, Jenny is in great demand for her inspiring talks and motivational workshops. Jenny’s key areas of expertise include staffrooms, classrooms, dining halls and playgrounds.  All of Jenny’s systems promote wellbeing in schools. Her ‘Five Wells for Wellbeing’ were adopted by the National College for School Leadership, UK.

Jenny has taught MEds in Education at two universities and her work has been featured many times in the press and aired on the BBC.  Jenny travels tirelessly to work with staff and children in schools across the UK and internationally.

More recently, Jenny has created therapeutic training resources aimed at School Recovery and continues to create online resources so that schools can access her support for positive relationships, respectful school communities, speaking and really listening to each other and, importantly, fun, games and enjoyment at school.

www.circle-time.co.uk

Session/s

• Staff wellbeing – putting our own wellbeing first so we have the energy to care for others (Session to be repeated)
  “Yesterday I was clever, so I wanted to change the world. Today I am wise, so I am changing myself.” – Rumi
  Too many adults ignore their own wellbeing needs during term time. With a clear link between adult and child wellbeing, adult wellbeing needs to be high on school agendas.
  Jenny’s passionate belief is that we each need our own Personal Care Plan to recharge our energy and joy levels. We need to be certain that we have sufficient energy to actively support others, even more -so during times of crisis and recovery. Mindfulness and fun are uplifting touchstones of her philosophy.  It’s important to reach out and share our experiences in a supportive, non-judgemental forum. Jenny will be talking about the importance of leading by example. The over-used but dazzling “Be The Change You Want To See” (Gandhi) is key – we cannot tell people how to be – we need to inspire them! Jenny will introduce her highly acclaimed Five Wells for Wellbeing and to help us consider a raft of ideas to help us care for ourselves and others within our community. We need energy and empathy to be effective early years practitioners, teachers, assistants, administrators, leaders to build caring, strong, inclusive relationships with others. We need to start the process with a commitment to ourselves.

Empowering Parents, Educators, Leaders and Teams
With creative, practical and experiential resources in today’s fast changing world.

Izumi Takase is a Swiss Licensed Trainer and Career Coach. She founded iPostiveLINC in October 2016.

She worked for 20 years at a Swiss Human Resources, Consultancy in Geneva. As a Senior Consultant, she supported the private industry sector, public institutions such as universities (Geneva, Lausanne, Neuchatel, The Graduate Institute), and schools (Ecolint).

Currently, she is a corporate trainer (P&G, HP, Ferring, Givaudan …), the Moser School (certified as Positive Discipline Lab School) and trains primary and secondary teachers in Geneva and Nyon. She also works with the Geneva Public Schools (DIP), HEP (Haute Ecole Pédagogique BEJUNE) and GIAP (Groupement Intercommunal pour l'Animation Parascolaire).

President of Climate & Sustainability, Co-Founder of SHE Changes Climate, Advisor to the UN
Elise Buckle is President and Director of Climate & Sustainability, a platform of collaboration for change-makers focusing on partnership development for climate, people and nature. She is also the Co-Founder of SHE Changes Climate, an initiative focusing on women empowerment, and Board Member of the Climate Action Accelerator.

Elise is highly committed to making this world a better place for people and nature. She has been working in the field of sustainable development and climate change for nearly twenty years and truly believes in radical collaboration, skillful diplomacy and movement building.

Her vision is that we can all work together as One team for One Planet, going beyond logos, egos and institutional boundaries to address the planetary emergency and shift towards a systemic transformation for climate, people and nature.
She is working both at global and local levels: “thing global, act local” is her preferred mode of action.

At COP26 in Glasgow, she hosted and moderated the COP26 Nature Day focusing on cities and regions, sharing best practices with mayors and local leaders around the world for a nature positive and climate neutral recovery.

Giulia is the Director of the Natural Climate Solutions Alliance, a platform supported by WBCSD and the WEF, bringing together public and private stakeholders to identify opportunities and barriers to investment into carbon credits in new, and existing markets, to increase financing for natural climate solutions.

Previously Giulia served as Deputy Director of the Global Business and Biodiversity Programme at the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). During her tenure at IUCN, she headed projects in renewable energy, tourism, sport, agri-food, apparel, mining, infrastructure, and oil and gas sectors. She also convened numerous multistakeholder processes, such as the Aluminium Stewardship Initiative, bringing together global companies in the aluminium value chain and civil society organizations, that led to the first global aluminium sustainability standard. She designed the Cerrado das Aguas Consortio, uniting Nespresso and other global coffee companies with local stakeholders to collectively tackle land restoration; and coordinated the Western Gray Whale Advisory Panel, enabling scientists to provide independent advice to oil and gas representatives and NGOs.

Chief, Executive Director Office, UN Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR).

As the Chief of the Executive Director Office, Jonas Haertle develops and oversees strategic projects for the UN Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR), one of the United Nations’ official training organizations, and advises its Executive Director on strategy, mission and activities. From 2010 to July 2018, Mr. Haertle was the Head of the Principles for Responsible Management Education (PRME), an initiative founded by the United Nations Global Compact and leading business school associations. He led the global secretariat and build PRME into the world’s largest initiative on responsible management education. From 2007-2010, he was the global lead of the UN Global Compact’s Local Networks in Latin America, Africa and the Middle East. Mr. Haertle has written and contributed to a number of publications and academic articles on corporate sustainability and responsible education and serves on the advisory boards of a number of education organizations. He holds a master's degree in European Studies of Hamburg University in Germany. As a Fulbright scholar, he also attained a MSc degree in Global Affairs from Rutgers University in the USA.

Julia Marton-Lefèvre was Director General of IUCN from 2007 to 2015.  Prior positions include Rector of the UN affiliated University for Peace: Director of LEAD International and Director of the International Council for Science.   She currently serves on the boards of NGOs, foundations, universities and corporations, and chairs the Board of Trustees of the Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT; the Tyler Prize for Environmental Achievement; the Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund;  the Villars Institute Foundation and the  Strategic Advisory Council to  the French think tank, IDDRI.  The government members of IPBES elected Julia as a member of the IPBES Bureau in 2019.   She has been on the board of ASU’s  Global Institute of Sustainability since its inception, and serves on the Executive Committee of the Global Futures Conference. She lectures regularly on environment & sustainable development topics in various universities including Yale University where she was the Edward P. Bass Distinguished Visiting Scholar in the Environment.

Alban is the co-founder of Beauty Disrupted, conscious beauty for all genders, designed in Stockholm and carefully crafted in the South of France. All Beauty Disrupted products, from shampoo to body wash and shaving, come as luxuriously lathering solid bars that smoothly follow the contours of the human body. Beauty Disrupted haircare and beauty bars are 100% plastic free, certified vegan and completely free of harsh ingredients. The bars come in beautiful packaging made of recycled cardboard and are produced using 100% renewable energy.

Each of Beauty Disrupted’s haircare and beauty bars avoid at least 2 plastic bottles. Beauty Disrupted donate 20% of our profits to organizations that protect the planet and combat climate change and are b-Corp certified.

Alice Richard is a sustainability catalyst, designing and leading inspiring learning experiences that help bring sustainability and meaningful content to life. As a former innovation consultant, United Nations staff member, and product designer, Alice’s career has been built around products and collaborations that drive positive change. Today, with her sustainability training company Co-CREATE ImpACT, she provides services to a wide range of educational institutions, non-profit organizations, and corporations. She runs Sustainable Development Goal training for the United Nations, designs game-based approaches to energy sustainability for the European Commission and gets big businesses such as Oracle to ‘think out of the box’.

She has worked with a number of international schools in Switzerland including Le Rosey and Ecolint, as well as higher education institutions such University of St Gallen and Boston University, nurturing students changemaking skills and using play to explore the consequences of our actions.

Alice brings together genuine passion for making the world a better place with her 20+ years of experience and expertise to advance sustainability on a daily basis with inclusive, energising and thought-provoking training.

Website: https://cocreateimpact.com/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alice-richard/

Sessions/s

• Developing transformational skills for sustainable development
  In order to transform the world, we need to transform ourselves. The global challenges facing humanity are increasingly complex, with the cascading and intersecting crises. We, humans, are the problem. There is a vision of what needs to happen and a global plan of action called the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), but the world is currently not making progress towards these goals. We lack the inner capacity to deal with our problems. Educating students about our world is critical, but we need to go further. We need move from an external focus, to an inside perspective and develop the transformational skills needed to contribute to a more sustainable society. This session will introduce the Inner Development Goals (IDGs) (a tool kit of transformative skills for sustainable development), explore the mind shift we need to make and how teachers can act as a role model in supporting students’ inner development. Come with an open mind for this interactive session.

Christina Bornatici completed her studies in international relations and socioeconomics at the University of Geneva. Since 2015, she is a researcher at FORS - the Swiss Center of Expertise in Social Sciences, where she is involved in the development of European research infrastuctures. Since 2018, she is also a PhD candidate at the University of Lausanne. Her research interests lie in the field of gender equality, where she mainly focuses on attitudes towards gender equality and couples’ work-family organisation. In 2022, she published an comprehensive report on the situation of young women in Switzerland under the mandate of the Federal Commission for Women’s Issues.

Monika was born and grew up in London and read Law at the University of Birmingham. She has worked in search and recruitment within the education sector since 2007, leading the international and independent schools consultancy division at The Times Educational Supplement (now TES Global) and subsequently for independent search firms and directly with schools. This has included working with individual schools, Boards and ‘not for profit’ organisations as well as large multinational school groups, investors, education providers and school brand international expansion & start up projects; creating whole school HR and recruitment plans and appointing to executive & senior support function roles. As such, her network covers both the educationalist and commercial & operational side of school leadership.

Alongside her work in search, Monika specialises in delivering training on best practice recruitment, recruitment strategy & retention and process management.

Session/s

Inclusive Recruitment Toolkit – A Practical Guide for Building Inclusion into your Recruitment Practice (Session will be repeated)

Valerie Hannon is a global thought leader, inspiring systems to re-think what ‘success’ will mean in the C 21st, and the implications for education. The co-founder of both Innovation Unit and of the Global Education Leaders Partnership, Valerie is a radical voice for change, whilst grounded in a deep understanding of how education systems currently work.
After a distinguished career within education, Valerie now works independently to support change programs across the world. She has advised governments and worked with systems and schools on every continent, working with some of the most challenged as well as the leaders in education innovation.

Valerie advised the OECD on its Education 2030 project. She is a regular keynote speaker and facilitator at international conferences and workshops, drawing upon her substantial research and publications.
Valerie was the Australian Learning Lecturer for 2020 on the subject of The Future School. The resulting book FutureSchool is published by Routledge.  In 2021 she received the Edufuturists’ award for Outstanding Achievement in Education.

Valerie is the Chair of the Haringey Education Partnership and a Trustee of Apps For Good.

Session/s

Keynote: Thriving as purpose

Giving careful, fresh thought to overall purpose is the key to finding coherence - as well as dynamism and energy - in strategic planning. In this keynote session, Valerie will outline how re-thinking what thriving means in the conditions of the C21st can underpin a new sense of direction to schools; and how it can draw together seemingly disparate themes such as DEI, sustainability and well-being

Associate Professor Eeqbal Hassim is an internationally recognised expert in intercultural education, the development of complex capabilities, and education in transnational contexts. He is an independent education consultant and an Honorary Principal Fellow at the Melbourne Graduate School of Education (MGSE), The University of Melbourne.

Eeqbal is an Intercultural Development Inventory (IDI)® Qualified Administrator. He works extensively with schools, school systems and school organisations, both internationally and across a range of curricula. He has collaborated with the Council of International Schools (CIS) on a broad range of research, intercultural learning, global citizenship, and diversity, equity, and inclusion projects over the last seven years.

He is also a member of the CIS Board Committee on I-DEA (Inclusion via Diversity, Equity and Anti-racism).

Session/s

• Intercultural Learning and Global Competences: Conceptual Frameworks
  Participants will examine common conceptual frameworks that influence the interpretation of intercultural learning, evaluating how these frameworks can expand or limit the development of global competences.

Sean Lionadh is an award-winning poet, filmmaker and speaker from Glasgow, Scotland.

His short film, Time for Love, which explores the experience of modern day homophobia was seen by more than 16 million people online when it was released by BBC.

When visiting schools, Sean uses his work as a starting point for discussions on empathy, queer identity and experience, and allyship.

(Organisation suisse d'aide aux réfugiés (OSAR))

Having completed a Bachelor of Arts in Spanish Literature and a Master’s degree in German Literature, I worked as a middle school teacher and as an adult educator for German. At the same time, I was finalizing my Federal Trainer Diploma. I then worked a couple of years as a social worker. Nevertheless, my predilection area being migration and integration, I started looking for an opening in the vast world of NGOs.

Luckily for me, I didn’t have to look for a long time. I’ve started working for the Swiss Refugee Council in January 2021 as a training co-manager in French-speaking Switzerland.

Session/s

• “A qui accorder la protection en Suisse?
  Les participant-e-s vivent les différentes étapes de la procédure d’asile en Suisse, investi-e-s des rôles de parlementaires ou de fonctionnaires. Il leur est ainsi demandé de déterminer les critères visant à accepter ou à rejeter une demande d’asile et de se prononcer sur la requête d’une personne réfugiée. Avec le témoignage d’un-e intervenant-e sur son propre parcours de réfugié-e ».
  
  
• “Who can hope for the protection of Switzerland”
  Participants reflect on the different stages of the asylum procedure in Switzerland. They are questioned about the reasons for fleeing and the criteria for accepting or rejecting an asylum application in Switzerland. Includes a testimony by a refugee”.

More information to follow