Greetings from Paris, and welcome to the 2019 version of the George Washington UNESCO Fellows blog! I know I can speak for everyone in saying that the eight of us are extremely excited to share our varied experiences from around the world over the course of this summer. Through this page, we’ll do our best to convey the professional experiences that these fellowships afford us while also offering insight into some of the unique opportunities a summer abroad can provide.
I have the honor of working at UNESCO’s International Institute for Educational Planning (IIEP) office, located in Paris just a short distance across the Seine from UNESCO headquarters. IIEP focuses on developing educational capacities by training education professionals, providing technical cooperation to ministries of education and national institutions, and conducting research to anticipate future needs to education systems. For my time at IIEP, I will work with the research department and spend the bulk of my time assisting with two separate projects.
The first examines teacher career structures and reforms across a diverse selection of 10 countries, seeking to provide policy options for improved system design. I have spent most of my time at IIEP thus far working on this, helping to finalize the publication process for all the materials and working on the final synthesis report and descriptive briefs. Having a background in education myself and with numerous friends and family members still working as teachers, this project has great personal significance to me. I’ve been reading with extreme interest about findings from around the world that match experiences and frustrations I’ve both had and heard about from others in my own little corner of Southwest Virginia.
The second project I will assist with examines teachers of refugees and has focused specifically on the context of Ethiopia with an in-depth case study. While my exact role will depend on how far the team progresses prior to my working with them later in the summer, I plan to help in any way I can with regards to the further development and implementation of the project. Having a personal interest in education in emergency situations, I am particularly excited to gain experience working with this team!
IIEP also offers an array of exciting activities at the institute, and I’ve already gotten the chance to attend a couple of these. Two weeks ago, officials from 17 countries came together in Paris for a three-day seminar that sought to build knowledge and share best practices for educational planning and management. In assisting with the building of the final report for the seminar, I attended all three days to take notes while also getting the opportunity to meet delegates from China, Nigeria, Afghanistan, and India, amongst many others. Not limited to seminars, IIEP also hosts an ongoing series of strategic debates that attempt to explore pushing questions in education. In my first week, I was able to attend an interesting discussion about reforming the French secondary education system and look forward to hearing future debates on other topics!
While I’ve certainly found my work life fulfilling and interesting over the last month, I would be remiss in failing to mention some of the other perks about living in Paris for the summer. Since France has an ample number of national holidays in May and June, I have had the chance to take a couple of quick side trips to Belgium and the UK on long weekends. I now feel highly confident in suggesting that everyone with the opportunity should take a hike through Lake District National Park in England, a stroll through the Grand Place in Brussels, or a nighttime walk and photo session alongside the canals in Bruges.
Of course, then there is Paris itself. Having completed obligatory tourist trips to the Louvre and Versailles, I’ve also gotten to enjoy unique events such as a light show celebrating the 130-year anniversary of the Eiffel Tower and Paris’ annual Museum Night. Each year in May, nearly all the museums in the city open their doors for free on a Saturday night from 5 or 6 in the evening until midnight…which makes for an awesome evening of exploring! With the Women’s World Cup starting last night, I’m looking forward to attending a couple games in Paris and hopefully rooting the U.S. to a title defense of 2015 (and then politely telling my French colleagues all about it). Then July will bring the Tour de France almost to my doorstep (I live near the Arc de Triomphe) and Bastille Day celebrations across the city. Needless to say, I do not foresee myself getting bored anytime soon.
With that, I will wrap up this first blog entry and eagerly pass the torch to my colleagues so that they can continue the discussion on the remarkable things I know they are experiencing and achieving. We hope to have at least one post per week throughout the summer, so make sure to check back frequently! Thanks for reading, and I look forward to posting again later in the summer with more updates from Paris!
Dave Childress is a Master’s candidate in International Education with a focus on education in development and a special interest in education in emergencies.