GSF 2019 Annual Meeting Report
The Global Schools Forum (GSF) Annual Meeting, now in its fourth year, took place from 15 - 17 May 2019 in Nairobi, Kenya – for the first time in a country where GSF has members. As one of the cornerstones of GSF, the Annual Meeting is part of our commitment to connect and provide support to great school operators and intermediary organisations from around the world.
We convened a group of 100 exceptional delegates, including school operators, representatives from intermediary organisations, investors, funders and other key stakeholders from 26 countries across Africa, Latin America and South Asia, all committed to creating opportunities and access to quality education for every child. The focus of the Annual Meeting was to connect, strengthen our relationships with one another, broker new partnerships, engage in collaborative problem solving and further build our global community through the lens of storytelling.
Unlike previous years, the agenda included an evening event welcoming the wider Kenyan education community, including local service providers, hosted in partnership with Metis Fund and Segal Family Foundation. The purpose of the evening was to highlight and network with the vibrant community of education entrepreneurs and social innovators in Nairobi. We had 10 local service providers showcase their work ranging from creating vibrant alumni networks to building purpose-built, environmentally friendly and affordable schools. This evening included a student performance by students from Makini Schools, Scholé and a keynote speech by Sara Ruto from the PAL network. Delegates left the evening feeling energized, having made new connections and engaged with a wider community of partners doing mission-aligned work.
Nairobi is also home to five GSF members: Bridge International Academies, Dignitas, Kidogo, Nova Pioneer and Scholé. 70 percent of our delegates attended school visits with the above members and saw incredible teaching and learning, vibrant school cultures and engaged communities. We heard that starting the conference with school visits grounded conversations over the next few days and provided an enriched experience to the whole conference.
Read the full report here.
The past three days have been a wonderful time of inspiration, learning and laughing with so many warm-hearted brilliant individuals. Everyone was willing to share their experiences and I gained invaluable feedback on my main challenges from GSF members operating all over the world from Sao Paolo to Mumbai to Brooklyn. There is so much more to share, learn and build together. Every experience counts and the diversity of this forum is a unique asset for a bigger impact.