Beirut September 9th, 2009: The Partnership for Lebanon, in collaboration with the Ministry of Education and Higher Education, launched the fifth and closing session of the “Dialogue on Education” series of workshop. The initiatives mainly focused on creating a platform to encourage cooperation, promote collaboration between key players in the education sector and raise awareness amongst all participants for the improvement of the quality of education. The ceremony ended with a general discussion between education decision makers and practitioners, who introduced their input and support in constructing a clearer and more effective path towards the 21st century. The first of the five workshops was entitled ‘Education in the 21st Century,’ which was launched by H.E. Mrs. Bahia Hariri and headed by the Director-General of Education, Mr. Fadi Yarak. Ms. Tae Yoo, Senior Vice-president of Corporate Affairs at Cisco, Ms. Lila Ibrahim, General Manager of Intel’s Emerging Markets Group, and Megan Holt, Middle East and Africa Education Director at Microsoft, all present for the occasion, gave an overview on education at present. The second workshop, ‘ICT in Education,’ focused on the level of education in Lebanon and participated in evaluating the current regional and international status of ICT, then comparing it to the local standards. Mr. Tahabsem, CEO of the Integrated Technology Group, spoke of his experience with the Jordan Education Initiative, stressing two major topics: the development of the Exam Management Information System and the capacity building of staff members. Mr. Kelvyn Hicks, Education Solution Specialist from Microsoft, discussed fast and reliable solutions such as live@edu. The participants later agreed to produce a ‘wish list’ of recommendations that would facilitate and accelerate their day-to-day work. The third workshop, titled ‘School Internal Effectiveness,’ was divided into three sessions. Key speakers from various education systems spoke of the administrative process as well as of the role, duties and skills of the modern principal. Mr. Bill Fowler, Director of the Department of Education at CISCO, presented a brief illustration of what a 21st century school looks like and of the technology available today. He also highlighted the necessity of combining human resources and technology to optimize the effectiveness and efficiency of schools in the region. The fourth workshop focused on ‘Capacity Building.’ It aimed at creating a “conclusion document” including recommendations and suggestions that would pave the way for future initiatives, by allowing a review of the current projects relating to capacity building. Mses. Talj and Barakat, from the Education Center for Research and Development, focused on the achievements of the training department at the center in terms of the number of teachers trained. They also described their difficulties in integrating ICT into schools. Ms. Luma reviewed the capacity building tools adopted in Jordan and identified fundamental skills teachers needed to acquire. The presentation evoked the Monitoring & Evaluation Systems that help follow up with teachers, to make sure the objective of the training is met. The closing ceremony was held under the patronage of H.E. the minister and in the presence of the Director-General of Education. The Partnership for Lebanon was represented by Salam Yamout. Participants recapped the previously discussed topics and attempted to incorporate a concrete platform for the education system to obtain an improved network of schools and a greater education program for Lebanon.