December 3, 2024

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British Council to Host its Flagship New Directions Sub Saharan Africa Conference in Nairobi

Tuesday 10 September 2024 – The British Council today announced it will for the first  time host its flagship New Directions Conference to be held in Nairobi, Kenya on 24 – 26  September 2024. This is the first time the conference will be hosted in Africa. The  conference is an opportunity to bring the professional language testing and learning  community together to engage on challenges and trends affecting the education and  assessment systems in Sub Saharan Africa and beyond.  

The New Directions conference aims to showcase innovative language testing and policy  work in the region and put Sub Saharan Africa scholars and practitioners on the  international language learning and assessment map. The conference will explore the  theme of Rethinking policy and practice for English in complex linguistic landscapes. 

The areas of focus will include influencing assessment policy to serve multilingual  communities; English and modern African identities; multilingualism and plurilingualism  opportunities and challenges; and technology and language assessment and learning in  Africa. 

The conference will bring together over 200 participants from 18 countries and will run over  two days with a packed agenda featuring high profile experts in the field of language and  assessment who will cover a range of topics.  

The conference will be officially opened by British Council’s deputy CEO, Kate Ewart-Biggs and the Country Director Kenya, Tom Porter alongside the new Sub-Saharan Africa  Regional Director, Lucy Pearson. Plenary speakers and panelists expected at the  conference include Dr David Njengere, Kenya National Examinations Council; Prof. Leketi  Makalela, University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa; Prof. Barry O’Sullivan, British  Council; and Dr. Harry Kuchah Kuchah, University of Birmingham; among others.  

Keshav Sreedharan, Regional Director of Exams, British Council, said: “This year’s  New Directions, Sub Saharan Africa conference will explore questions around what English  could look like and how it will be used. We will discuss what broader competencies are  necessary in a rapidly changing and digitally enabled communication landscape, and how  these can be developed and assessed in the future. We will also explore the potential  changes of language education policy and reform in Kenya and the wider Sub-Saharan Africa region. Additionally, the conference will provide a platform to share global  perspectives about the future of English with partners, thought leaders, teachers and  learners around the world.” 

Tom Porter, Country Director, British Council Kenya, said: “The New Directions  conference serves as a dynamic platform for fostering collaboration, driving innovation and  developing sustainable solutions that empower educational institutions. By bringing  together educators, policymakers and experts to exchange transformative ideas, we  reinforce our shared commitment to creating a brighter future for education in the region.  We have a longstanding partnership with the Ministry of Education and support efforts to  enhance core skills assessment.”

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