Welcome back to Bangkok! Thanks for checking back in with me and my fellow Fellows, I hope you have enjoyed reading about their work and adventures abroad as much as I have.
Things have started to get quite busy for me here in Bangkok over the past month as our conference is quickly approaching. I am still primarily assisting in preparations for the The 6th International Conference on Language and Education and the 13th Language and Development Conference which is occurring 24-26 September. Over the last few weeks, I have been focused on working out some logistics, particularly preparing the first draft of the conference programme which I finally completed and is now live on our website! I have learned just how much goes into scheduling and organizing a conference of this magnitude (hint: it’s a lot of work). I will also be responsible for making necessary adjustments and finalizing the schedule within the next few weeks as well as preparing all the abstracts for uploading to the website, confirming registration with participants, and general logistics related to the conference.
I have also been helping with the High-level Policy Forum on Multilingual Education that is scheduled to occur on the second day of the conference. We have invited high level officials and ministers from the Ministries of Education in Asia Pacific in order to share best practices and existing challenges, discuss efforts to integrate mother tongue-based multilingual education (MTB MLE) in national SDG 4 plans and monitor SDG indicator 4.5.2, and create regional recommendations for MTB MLE.
In addition to the conference, I have been contributing to a paper on MLE and equity in assessments for The Network on Education Quality Monitoring in the Asia-Pacific (NEQMAP), working on an OpEd celebrating International Literacy Day (this year’s theme is Literacy and Multilingualism!), and assisting with work related to financing mechanisms for Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE).
In between all that work, I have also been able to get a little traveling in and a lot of eating. I spent a holiday weekend in July island hopping in Krabi. I am not much of a beach person but that trip might just have made me a convert. If you are ever in Thailand, go to Krabi. And eat massaman. And a mango smoothie. Delicious. I also just happened to get back to Bangkok a few hours ago from Kanchanaburi, which is known for the Death Railway of World War II (perhaps better known as the Bridge over the River Kwai) and beautiful national parks and waterfalls.
I’ve got a few days of work to get through this week then I am heading to Ho Chi Minh and Phu Quoc, Vietnam, for a few days of fun and exploring. Outside of traveling, I have also been trying out new places to eat around Bangkok, enjoying the pool, and attending a few outdoor exercise classes (although existing in this humidity feels like enough of a workout). After two months, I finally feel like I am settling in and adjusting to my new surroundings. It took a little longer than I anticipated but I have three months left to enjoy and bask in the comfort of my new routine.
I am looking forward to getting to do a bit more traveling, having some friends from back home visit, and, last but certainly not least, seeing what exciting adventures await me at UNESCO Bangkok.
Brynn Acker is a Master’s candidate in International Education with a focus on multilingual education and linguistically marginalized populations.