Marshalls to host int’l conference for educators

Majuro, Republic of the Marshall Islands—The 29th Pacific Educational Conference will be held in Majuro on July 28-31, 2015. This year, PEC is hosted by the Republic of the Marshall Islands Public School System, the College of the Marshall Islands, and Pacific Resources for Education and Learning. PEC 2015—bringing together educators from across the Pacific region, U.S. mainland, Australia, Canada, China, Japan, New Zealand, the Philippines—is expected to be the largest international event in the history of the Marshall Islands. 

Participants will meet to consider the role of education in improving sustainability and resiliency of island communities under the theme “Our Ocean, Our Islands, Our Children.”

The keynote speaker will be Dr. Charles “Chip” Fletcher III, an eminent climate scientist and educator who leads the Coastal Geology Group and is an associate dean at the University of Hawaii. 

During the conference, teachers from American Samoa, Chuuk, Guam, Hawaii, Kosrae, Marshall Islands, Northern Mariana Islands, Palau, Pohnpei, and Yap will be recognized during a special Pacific Teachers of the Year Awards ceremony. These teachers will be recognized for their excellence in education and share their effective teaching strategies with their colleagues to showcase the talent of homegrown teachers from across the region.

The 2015 Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas Islands Teacher of the Year, Marvin Tamangided of Dr. Rita Hocog Inos Junior and Senior High School on Rota, will be honored at the ceremony.

About Pacific Educational Conference

Beginning in 1984, PEC is the largest conference for educators in the Pacific island region. It brings together teachers, administrators, and chief state school officers from around the Pacific.  Biennially, it is alternatively hosted by American Samoa, Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas Islands, Guam, the Federated States of Micronesia (Chuuk, Kosrae, Pohnpei, and Yap), Hawaii, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, and the Republic of Palau to promote exchanges in educational ideas.
 
About PREL

The Pacific Resources for Education and Learning (prel.org) is an independent, non-profit organization whose mission is to enhance community wellbeing through partnerships in education to build sustainability and resiliency across the Pacific islands.

For more information about PEC 2015, Pacific Teachers of the Year Awards or PREL, contact Hendrick Cho at choh@prel.org or +1 (808) 386-1326. (PREL)