Queen Rania Delivers Speech at TSF, Assures Her Commitment to Empowering Teachers

(Office of Her Majesty – Press Department – Dead Sea) - Her Majesty Queen Rania Al Abdullah attended part of and spoke today at the second Teachers Skills Forum, the first regional forum of its kind that aims to address the most pressing needs of the teaching profession in the Arab World.

Held by the Queen Rania Teachers Academy (QRTA) at the King Hussein bin Talal Convention Center in the Dead Sea, the three-day forum was attended by His Excellency Mohammad Thneibat, Minister of Education, Bruno Saccomani, Canada’s Ambassador to Jordan, Hamad Saleh Al Deij, Kuwait’s Ambassador to Jordan, Marwan Ahmad Al Sawaleh, Secretary General of the Ministry of Education of the UAE, educators, thought-leaders, and education pioneers from Jordan and the Arab world.

Speaking to an audience of more than 1000 educators and advocates, Her Majesty affirmed the importance of education and the pivotal role teachers play, describing their profession as “sacred” and one that prepares students for all other professions.

Her Majesty, expressing her worry about the current state of the world, spoke about the dark and difficult times the Arab world is living through and wondered what led our region to its current state of conflict and crises. Addressing the audience, her majesty asked: “what are the factors that generated this dark ideology in our midst?”

The Queen described teachers as the solution to the problem saying, “The answers to the most difficult test of our times are not in books or texts, nor in forums or conferences. The answers lie in you.”

Queen Rania continued to say that even after the victories of armies and their weapons prevail, teachers are the ones that will abort extremist and dark ideologies from spreading in society and said, “You are the first line of defense in our fight to defeat the enemies of humanity.”

Her Majesty paralleled education to the latest weaponries armies gets equipped with saying, “It is our duty to enable you with the latest teaching skills and techniques.”

In her speech, Her Majesty asked teachers two things: to realize the importance and sensitivity of their role and to work hard to develop themselves and keep up with the requirements of the field. In return, Queen Rania reassured them of her commitment saying, “My commitment to empowering you is as large as the commitment and dedication to education I ask of you. Every one of us has a role and a responsibility,” adding, “TSF is part of that commitment.”

The Teacher Skills Forum 2015 offers a wide array of opportunities for participants and stakeholders to engage, learn, interact, network, and share experiences. Based on the success attained last year and the participants’ feedback, the forum attracted a wider audience of more than 1000 that includes classroom teachers, school administrators, program coordinators, educational supervisors, organizations active in the educational sector, and stakeholders such as governments, thought-leaders, and pioneers in the field.