[etni] Fw: ETAI Newsletter 30 - May, 2010
- From: "Ask_Etni" <ask@xxxxxxxx>
- To: "ETNI" <etni@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Mon, 17 May 2010 04:11:31 +0300
----- Original Message -----
From: ETAI office
Subject: ETAI Newsletter 30 - May, 2010
ETAI: Keeping in Touch
Newsletter 30: May, 2010
Dear Readers,
Looking back at my last Newsletter, written from the IATEFL conference in
Harrogate, and thereafter at different points on my way home: I was pretty
busy…
And so am I now, though less with other people’s conferences, and more with
our own.
The convening team of the ETAI 2010 International Conference (Valerie Jakar,
Nava Horovitz, Debbie Lifshitz and myself) are meeting now pretty well every
week, either face to face or through two- or three-hour long conference
calls, trying to keep up with the deadlines and make sure everything is
organized and will run smoothly on the Day (Days, I mean).
Marna, back at the office, is feverishly dealing with incoming advance
registration (the final deadline for that is May 31st), making sure people
renew their memberships in time, keeping in touch with publishers and
sponsors. She can’t possibly deal with it all on her own, so is ably
assisted by Karen and Naomi.
And this is only mid-May: two months to go!
Incidentally, do register in advance if you haven’t yet done so: it makes a
huge difference to cost, and will also ensure a much quicker and smoother
checking-in process at the conference. (No standing in long lines!) Same
with hotels: by the time you read this Newsletter there will probably be no
rooms available at the Park Hotel (deadline: May 17), but there are still
rooms at the Ramada.
And check out the Pre-conference Event on the 12th; some special in-depth
workshops offered, focusing largely on elementary and middle-school
teachers, but something for everyone. Again, worth registering now, as
places are limited.
The main focus of the convening committee at the moment is finalizing the
actual program. We have over a hundred presentations, and also some
attractive afternoon and evening cultural events: three drama performances,
a concert, a tour, a dinner, a Pecha Kucha event (if you don’t know what
that is, Google it!). Valerie, particularly, is working hard planning the
timing and placing of the different sessions, and it’s coming together!
And then, of course, we have some delicate problems in selecting and
rejecting sessions. For example, is session X going to be commercial, in
spite of the fact that it was submitted as academic? It’s happened in the
past that sessions have been billed as academic and turned out to be
commercial, and audiences were disappointed, so we’ve got to be very careful
about negotiating with possibly ‘commercial’ speakers without hurting
feelings. Or, another issue: is session Y going to be ‘activist’: setting
out to rouse or quell opposition to Ministry programs or policy, or dealing
with matters of teacher conditions and pay? ETAI cannot provide a public
forum for discussion of such issues: we have to keep to our mission of
teacher professional development and support. But again: a lot of tact and
careful explanation needed when we encounter requests for such sessions!
Many interesting issues will be raised at the conference, and some fun
topics too. I’ll just promise you that it will be a Great Conference!
An appeal for volunteers: we need ETAI members to act as ‘minders’ for our
foreign guest lecturers, to act as room monitors at the conference itself,
to offer home hospitality to out-of-towners and foreigners. Please, if you
think you can help with any of these, contact one of the convening
committee!
And finally: if you’re wondering why you haven’t received the spring issue
of the ETAI Forum, it’s because we’re combining spring and summer issues
into one bumper issue coming out at Conference time!
So lots to look forward to …
Best wishes,
Penny Ur
Chair, ETAI
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