Nordic Network Comes to Vilnius: Join VIS for a Unique Professional Development Opportunity
Are you a forward-thinking educator who seeks peer collaboration outside of their immediate school community? Vilnius International School invites you to the Nordic Network Educator’s Conference on November 14th and 15th, right here in the vibrant city of Vilnius! This is more than just a conference; it’s an immersive experience designed to enhance your teaching practice, expand your professional network, and inspire in you the desire to hunt for neglected points of interest that can be transformed into learning provocations wherever your school resides.
Day 1: A Deep Dive into Cultural Proficiency
Kickstart your experience with a full-day workshop led by VIS Director, Rebecca Juras, VIS p
Principal, Asta Balkutė, and VIS educator Talia Shaban, titled “Introducing a Framework for Building a Whole School Approach to Cultural Proficiency.” In an era of relational collapse, BANI, metacrisis, and the anxious generation, fostering a sense of belonging is paramount in learning environments. This workshop will equip you with a powerful, whole-school framework to cultivate genuinely inclusive and interconnected communities. Drawing on the journey of Vilnius International School, you’ll explore a practical conceptual continuum by Dr. Eeqbal Hassim, offering clear stages—multicultural, intercultural, and transcultural—with actionable insights and concrete descriptors for growth at interpersonal, classroom, and whole-school levels.
Discover how this tool can empower you to:
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Deepen self-reflection and professional development.
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Identify opportunities to grow in cultural understanding within your classrooms.
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Visualize the impact of your efforts with tangible examples.
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Implement practical strategies, from trans-languaging in lessons to fostering dynamic group interactions, avoiding overwhelm.
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Translate individual observations into patterns for constructive conversations and aspirational next steps.
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Transcend the curriculum and go granular to impact more sustainable change by targeting micro-behaviors.
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Ensure interactions are intentional and spontaneous to capture opportunities for authentic conversations.
This workshop is ideal for educators committed to cultivating inclusive school communities, whether you’re just starting your journey or looking to deepen existing initiatives.
Day 2: Explore Vilnius Through a Pedagogical Lens – Place Based Learning Comes Alive
The second day offers a truly unique learning experience: a series of educator learning walks, curated and led by our expert art, maths, science, language and literature, and history teachers. During these walks, mixed teams of educators will guide you through our beautiful city to uncover learning opportunities in unexpected places. The objective is not just the destination, but the journey itself – fostering shared experiences that lead to more meaningful collaboration between practitioners.
Each walk includes:
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“Stop and drop” mini-lessons: Experience teaching in real-world settings.
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Facilitated peer conversations: Engage with colleagues from Scandinavia, Finland, and the Baltics in grade level and subject group cohorts.
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Modelling of concept acquisition: See innovative teaching in action.
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Visits to culturally significant sites: Discover resources to enhance your future classroom content.
Each walk will conclude at a cozy café for a relaxed debrief with colleagues. To further engage the learner in all of us, a ticket to a museum or cultural site is included in this experience at no additional cost.
Why Attend?
This conference is a prime opportunity to:
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Gain practical, actionable tools to enhance your cultural proficiency and classroom practices.
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Network with like-minded educators and leaders from across the Nordic and Baltic regions.
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Experience the innovative and collaborative spirit of Vilnius International School.
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Discover Vilnius as a vibrant city with rich learning opportunities, potentially inspiring your next professional chapter.
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Finally, we are planning a range of social activities in hopes of promoting a broader range of mixing between colleagues.
If you would like more information about this event, or if you would like us to send you an announcement when Nordic Network opens registration, please write to us at [email protected]
