Dr. Ahmed Ali Manik left Maldives last night to attend The 17th Conference of Commonwealth Education Ministers conference (CCEM). The conference will be held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia from the 15th to 19th of June at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre.

The theme for this year’s 50th anniversary conference is ‘Education in the Commonwealth: Towards and Beyond Global Goals and Targets’. The first CCEM was held in Oxford, United Kingdom in 1959.

The Commonwealth Education Ministers meet at this important event every three years to discuss issues of mutual concern and interest, share ideas, and challenges and identify future goals and directions.

This year’s conference is organized by the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Higher Education, Malaysia and the Commonwealth Secretariat. During the conference, Ministers will have the opportunity to interact with delegates of the parallel forums and to listen to their views and consider their recommendations. The parallel forums include The Stakeholders Forum (for civil society, academia, international agencies and the private sector), The Youth Forum (for young people aged 18-25), The Teachers Forum (for practicing teachers and representatives of teachers’ organizations); and The Vice-Chancellors Forum (for executive heads of universities, including vice-chancellors/rectors, presidents and also deputy vice-chancellors and other senior managers)

The meeting will also include the presentation of the Commonwealth Education Good Practice Awards 2009, which recognizes exemplary practice in the field of education and also to participate in visits to Malaysian educational institutions.

Dr. Ahmed Ali Manik, the State Minister and Dr. Aamal Ali, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Education will participate in this conference on behalf of Maldives.