Ministers of education from seven countries will join education experts in the second edition of the Istanbul Education Summit. The two-day event, set to start Friday, is organized by the Maarif Foundation, the international organization that runs a network of Turkish-funded schools across the globe.

This year’s theme is "The Future of School: The Post-Pandemic Needs of Education." This year’s high-level session will focus on the "Needs of Post-Pandemic Education" with the participation of education ministers from various countries. The remaining four panels will bring together academics and experts to exchange views on different dimensions of the central theme. The panels will focus on "Back to School," "The Future of the COVID Generation," "Differentiated Education" and "Alternative Pursuits in Education."

In addition, the "Good Practices in Education" presentations, which are compiled from the Maarif Schools in various countries, will be enriched by a photography contest exhibition and other events that will provide opportunities to study stories from different parts of the world, where Maarif schools are located.

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Education Minister Mahmut Özer are expected to deliver opening speeches at the event in Istanbul.

Among the participants are education ministers from Cameroon, Mali, Zambia, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Malawi as well as the minister of education for the Province of Ontario, Canada. Other participants include academics from Harvard, Indiana and Cambridge University, officials from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and UNESCO, businesspeople, administrators of renowned educational institutions and educators.

The ministers will attend high-level meetings that will concentrate on the pandemic’s impact on education and training processes, the changing school models after the pandemic, the future of digital competencies, extracurricular inclusive education processes, hybrid education models and the integrity of formal-informal and lifelong learning and homeschooling. The "Back to School" panel will tackle the question of learning losses of students in in-person education after the pandemic, students’ social and emotional development in in-person education, increasing teacher and student motivation, peer bullying, cyberbullying and parental participation in education. "The Future of the COVID Generation" panel will delve into eponymous issues as well as "disappearing and emerging career opportunities and socio-economic and psycho-social situations."

Participants will discuss innovative assessment and evaluation approaches, the multidimensional assessment of students, the effects of gamification on education, adaptive learning, improving the quality of digital materials, and the effects of virtual developments in the digital world on education in the "Differentiated Instruction" panel. The "Alternative Pursuits in Education" panel will discuss the effects of certificate acquisition on students’ development, the development of teacher competence with expertise, the effects of distance education on formal education and students, effective student career planning processes and mastery-based leadership, peer teaching through mentoring and vocational training.