Queen Rania's Speech at Teachers Skills Forum 2015

I'm happy to be joining you for the second year, and I welcome all the teachers who have joined us this year, both from Jordan and the Arab World. This is your conference, and today I am your guest!

I am always happy to be in the presence of teachers who are committed to improving their skills. The teachers who most instill commitment and ambition in students are those who seek to develop and further their own education, and are thus role models for their students.

Dear distinguished teachers,

I have always believed firmly in the pivotal role of teachers. Yours is a sacred profession, which prepare students for all other professions. A lot of initiatives to enable educators were born of this firm conviction, and this Forum is one of them.

And yet, I must confess, even I didn't appreciate how pivotal your role is until recently with all that has been unfolding around us lately.

The dark conditions that the Arab World is going through today have increased my conviction that the fate of our future depends on you.

We have to ask ourselves:

How did we get to where we are now? 
How did the Arab countries turn to fighting rings?
How were millions of Arabs displaced from their homes and homelands?
How did we get to this stage where human values ​​have been lost ... the darkest period in our history?

Perhaps the biggest and most important question is what are the factors that generated this dark ideology in our midst?

How did this scourge spread among us? How did these destructive ideas find their way into people’s minds and then spread through our communities like rust. How do we address weapons that are more lethal than swords?

Distinguished guests,

Let us put conspiracy theories aside and take responsibility for the situation we find ourselves in. We created this problem, and only we can solve it.

And solution is at the front of our classrooms every morning. It is you!

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.

They lie in your mission and in the values ​​that you instil in your students.

What you teach them... How do you treat them... What horizons do you open up for them.. What type of lens do you picture the world and its people for them through...

Your divine mission is not merely to fill their minds with information, but to build their character.

Our fight against destructive ideas inevitably requires armies and weapons, but even after the biggest victory, the battlefield provides only temporary solutions: it bandages wounds, but does not stop the bleeding.

You are aborting their ideologies and not allowing it to see light.

Dear Teachers,

You are the first line of defense in our fight to defeat the enemies of humanity.

Just as nations arm their soldiers, it is our duty to enable you with the latest teaching skills and techniques. You are not only builders of the present... You give hope and create opportunities. You instill passion for knowledge and ambition... You paint in their minds the love of life in its brightest colors.

I just ask of you two things: the first is that you work hard to develop yourselves, your skills and keep up with the requirements of your field.

The second is that you realize the importance and sensitivity of your role, because you are entrusted with the minds of our children. What a responsibility and what an influence you have on our future!

God willing, you will graduate to the Arab world a generation that wants to live and co-exist... a generation not shackled by fear, but emboldened by hope... Not busy in the fight for a living, but motivated by ambition and achievement.

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.

And the "Teacher Training Forum" is only a part of that commitment.

I hope that this conference will bring forth a coalition of Arab teachers... a strong and disciplined army that is committed and eager to carry the message of light and flame of hope for a better tomorrow.

May God grant you success and bless you.