Room to Read Joins “Who’s Who” at International Education Gathering

From April 30 to May 5, the 2011 Comparative International Education Conference (CIES) was held in Montreal, Quebec. The annual conference brings together professionals and academics in the field of international education to share research and exchange best practices. This year, four Room to Read staff members attended to present on the recent work the organization has been doing to promote literacy and reading skills. Headlining Room to Read's participation was Dhir Jhingran, our chief program officer for literacy who is based out of New Delhi, India. Joining him were Amrita Sengupta, South Asia regional literacy program manager; Stacey Warner, global director of literacy; and Peter Cooper, global monitoring and evaluation officer.

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On the second floor of the Fairmont Queen Elisabeth Hotel in downtown Montreal, the halls are filled with people—each bearing a name card and intently combing through an 80-page booklet that contains descriptions of the week’s 500-plus sessions. “Which session are you going to?” asks one woman. “I’m not sure,” her colleague replies. “Maybe the one on early-grade reading in West Africa. Or perhaps the one on evaluating teacher training in Asia. It’s tough…they all look interesting.”

Every year, the Comparative International Education Society (CIES) conference brings together the “who’s who” of the international education community, many of whom present the latest research and best practices from their work around the globe. This year, they included renowned academics, seasoned practitioners, graduate students, and representatives from major international donor agencies.

With no fewer than 50 conference sessions devoted to some aspect of literacy, the momentum in this educational area is growing and the discussions are deepening.  And while it isn’t the first time Room to Read has had a presence at the conference, thanks to our emerging literacy work in Asia and Africa, we are front and center as these discussions are happening. 

Sharing our experiences ranging from designing early-grade literacy instructional materials, to our efforts to launch primary grade literacy programs in Asia and Zambia, to presenting key findings from a qualitative study of our library program in Nepal—we were excited to have each presentation end in a flurry of questions. Most noticeable was the larger conversation taking place this year around the quality of education. In the not-too-distant past, such discussions were not as commonplace because the international education community was mainly concerned with access to educational opportunities. But, in recent years, discussions have shifted firmly towards quality, with literacy at the forefront.

By the end of the five-day conference, we were a little worn out from all of the sessions, but left Montreal eager to apply some of the new ideas and best practices that were shared. Most importantly, we left feeling proud that Room to Read has a seat at the table on how to improve education for children around the world. And it’s a seat we intend to continue occupying.

Learn more about our Literacy Pilot, our Reading Room program, and the way Room to Read is Tracking Results.