In an announcement on TESOL International Association’s website, Dr. Dudley Reynolds, President of TESOL, wrote the following: “In celebration of the 50th anniversary of TESOL International Association, the Summit on the Future of the TESOL Profession will bring together a group of TESOL thought leaders, policy makers, and industry professionals in Athens, Greece, 9–10 February 2017. Informed by the work of a Steering Committee and Reference Group, this summit is designed to address the difficult conversations surrounding the current state of the TESOL profession and to meet TESOL International Association’s strategic objectives.”
Dr. Reynolds also noted that, “The Summit will bring together respected and innovative thought leaders who represent a wide variety of contexts for a strategic conversation about the future of the profession. Supported by the Summit’s Guiding Principles, Themes, and Key Terms, each featured speaker will develop an innovative and influential talk that addresses a pressing issue in the TESOL profession. These talks will support and challenge current beliefs.”
TIRF Trustee Joe Lo Bianco will be participating in the summit as a featured speaker. As part of the “English in Multilingualism” theme, Dr. Lo Bianco will be speaking on issues of equity. Additionally, a former TIRF grant recipient, Dr. Ahmar Mahboob, Professor at the University of Sydney, will also participate as a featured speaker during the summit. He will be speaking on issues related to professionalism, as part of the “Reimagining English Competence” theme.
The face-to-face portion of the Summit is by invitation-only; however, all other interested individuals may register for free as an Online Summit Participant. Through this type of participation, individuals will be able to: (1) Participate in pre- and post-Summit discussions; (2) live-stream the Summit; and (3) interact with Summit speakers through round-table discussions and question-and-answer periods.
Registration is now open, and online discussions are underway. We encourage you to help shape the conversation, as TESOL thought leaders, policy makers, and industry professionals look to set a course for the future.
