I have just returned from four days in San Francisco where I was one of 500 IB Heads of Schools attending our Biannual Conference.  This was the largest attendance at an IB Heads Conference ever with schools represented at this gathering from 54 countries.

It was very encouraging and exciting to learn of the success of all three IB programmes around the world.  For the first time in my experience, it was clear that all three programmes (PYP, MYP and Diploma) are seen by everyone as being of equal strength and value to the organisation.  Managing growth is unquestionably the organisations greatest challenge.  The IB is doubling its size every five years!  There are roughly 2,000 approved IB Schools worldwide at this time with over 500,000 students involved.  By 2020, they predict that there will be over 10,000 schools and then there will be millions of students participating, an awesome challenge.
 
The Director General, Jeffrey Baird, has a business background and he is in the process of re-structuring the organisation to meet these challenges.  Interestingly the focus is on both retaining quality and broadening access, rather than expansion for its own sake.  There are no plans to invest in promoting the IB in order to encourage growth and in fact, like promoting schools, the growing interest in IB programmes is largely driven by word of mouth, not by advertising and publicity. 

The Conference programme was designed to make the participants think more seriously about this question of "access". The opening Keynote was given by an education development specialist who has spent her life working for the World Bank in places like Pakistan, Kosovo, China and South Africa assisting with improving schools and restructuring society in challenging times and places.  The Closing Address was given by none other than Peter Dalglish who, in dramatic fashion, urged us all to seek avenues through our schools to share and partner with the needy and disadvantaged young people of the planet.  His powerful message was very well received and sparked great interest.  In between times we heard from Government leaders from Nova Scotia, Chicago and South Australia where Public Education systems are aggressively introducing the IB at all three levels as a programme that should be available for all who choose to participate.  Today more than half the schools in the world that offer the IB are National Schools and only 15% are catering exclusively to the international community.
 
There was much talk about how we have to prepare our students for a fast changing world.  There is a huge potential interest in China and we heard about a drive by the Ismaili community to develop no less than 18 "IB Academies" in East Africa and the Middle East.  The advent of the "$100 computer" for distribution in schools in developing countries may open up a new horizon for the IB as it develops on-line courses.  Lloyd Axworthy added an interesting Canadian perspective as our former Foreign Minister (who was one of the architects of the UN Landmines Treaty, a cause the IB adopted) and currently the President of the University of Winnipeg.  "There are massive tectonic changes happening to our society and our world and we need to rethink and redefine in a changing landscape."  Speaking on the day that Al Gore was identified as the 2007 recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize, he went on to focus on the environment and how it does not recognise national boundaries. "The world needs to wake-up to the growing need to be transnational. Young people understand this better than any as they cross boundaries every day through the internet, sharing creatively and learning across borders."
 
This was a meeting of "Heads of IB Schools" but we also heard from the President of the IB Board, Monique Siegfried, a passionate supporter of the IB and a driving force for broadening its capacity to meet a wider audience around the world.  She sees the IB as being even more crucial to the world than it was 40 years ago when it was founded. “Schools offering IB programmes take on a commitment to the IB mission statement and to the promotion of the learner profile and the values it entails.  We are committed to ensuring the organization ‘walks the talk’ .”
 
I came away with a strong sense of optimism for the IB and its future.  IB schools were described in the Conference Programme as being "Beacons of Humanity, Creativity and Learning" and this gathering strongly endorsed this focus on our work. If our purpose is "to prepare our children for the global world of tomorrow", then I am confident that we at Mulgrave have chosen the right vehicle for this journey.
 
Tony Macoun
Head of School
tmacoun@mulgrave.com

The International Baccalaureate
Mission Statement

Education for a better world

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The International Baccalaureate aims to develop inquiring, knowledgeable and caring young people who help to create a better and more peaceful world through intercultural understanding and respect.

To this end the organization works with schools, governments and international organizations to develop challenging programmes of international education and rigorous assessment.

These programmes encourage students across the world to become active, compassionate and lifelong learners who understand that other people, with their differences, can also be right.