IATEFL facts, figures and people - as I see them!
About 100 countries, approximately 2.100 delegates, 3 and a half days packed with hundreds of presentations. Phew!
It's no small business. IATEFL people are proving they're very serious about their trade, which explains why this is their 45th conference. I'm truly amazed at the size of the event, the quality of the talks and the speakers, and the punctuality af the whole event. Very British!
The army of ushers stationed at The Brighton Centre guide disoriented atendees (pick me!) around the labirynthical venue that was chosen for the conference. Friendly IATEFL staff in their red tees are always ready to aid you with information or clear your doubts.
Let's give a big hand to the British Council, who seem to be everywhere organising events and sponsoring teachers from all over the world to attend IATEFL. The Brighton Online team are doing a wonderful job interviewing everyone who is someone and going to great lengths to maintain the site updated and user friendly. It means a lot to those who're following the conference from other cities or countries. As a BC Roving Reporter, I'm fortunate enough to be in contact with such brilliant and committed people and witness how much of their effort is put into this project. My thanks to the whole team.
Networking, sharing, email exchanging and bonding happens during breaks. I'm taken aback at how easy it's been to start a conversation and actually make friends with fellow delegates. On top of that, at such high-ranked events you get to see people who until days ago lived solely on the jacket of a book on your shelf. This is what happened to Michael Swan, who has accompanied me throughout my studies of English in the last 25 years or so. He came to life at his session on Saturday - nice to meet you!
The same happened with people I met in the virtual world (Twitter, Facebook, blogs) and now were elevated to the status of 'real people' at the conference. Wow - they really exist!
Novices or more experienced teachers, lecturers, writers, authorities, first-timers just like me, we all congregated here iun cloudish-warm Brighton to celebrate the pride and joy of being, above all, English teachers. Cheers!
