Third day Monday, May 28

Weekend went away, it is 5.30 in the morning and it is raining, Most of you three hours ago said goodbye to the sheets. 

Most of the keynote speakers today will refer to the difficulties that the indigenous community and peoples afford not only in Canada but also all over the world.

The presenter using a very graphic and well done video, gives us a wide view about the difficulties faced by indigenous people in Canada and on the educational outcomes of indigenous communities. The result is devastating, you get goose bumps when you see that most of them do not get to graduate, compared to non-indigenous students they do not have the same opportunities to get jobs at the same level, or end the studies under the same conditions. It is a big surprise for me but I think it is a big surprise also for a lot of delegates from Canada.

The first two speakers are very interesting:

Mary Simon, OC, QC, President Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami. 

If the video was devastating, Mary´s speech is not less, she greets the audience in Inuit language and starts her story, reminding the times when they were punished if they spoke Inuit at school. Very familiar situation for  Basque people at the same period. She wants to have hope but at the same time is very concerned about the lack of money and even about the lack of responsibility of the governments. 

The second keynote speaker is Ms Yasna Provoste Campillay, former minister of planing and education with the government of Michelle  Bachelet. She has had some contacts with the previous Basque Government in 2005 and 2006. Her speech about the indigenous communities in Chile and they conditions they are suffering now, the discrimination for the language gives her the possibility to provoke the audience. She starts speaking in Spanish and maintains the speech for some minutes. Then asks to the audience: "Did you feel uncomfortable?. That is the way the indigenous communities fell when we speak to them" Very interesting speech

Then there is a round table on the topic "Serving Indigenous Peoples and Communities" Three different but interesting approaches to the topic. Daniel Christmas The case of Mi´kmaq community in Nova Scottia, Rustum Southwell  the case of black business initiative, also in Canada and very intertesting also, Kelly J. Lendsay, President and CEO, Aboriginal Human Resource Council.

At 10.45 it is our time to present TKNIKA and the project RAINOVA. We are introduced by Dr Nicholas Tubidge, president and CEO, College of the Rockies.

Previous to our specch it is the turn of Dr Joao Sobrinho Teixeira, President of Instituto Politecnico da Braganca  and president of th Condelho Coordenador dos institutos Superiores Politecnicos de Portugal. He gives us a wide view of the educational system in Portugal.

I start our presentation greeting the audience in Basque languag, more than 100 people, eight tables at the same time, and giving thanks for being invited. I talk about the first international cooperation between Basque fishermen and Mi´kmaq aborigines starting early 16th century and maintained for more than 200 years. You know that the used to go for fishing, mainly code fish and wahales and established with the Mi´k maq a kind of friendly trade. Some of them know about it, and it is a surprise for the rest. Then I take a look at the reasons that prompted the project RAINOVA and talk during 20 minutes about the model we are working with in TKNIKA. Sylvain in French, continues with the presentation talking about the project RAINOVA and gives a wide view about the possibilities this project opens for future collaborations in the field of projects of innovation. There are a lot of questions to be answered and when we finish I have the impression that the audience understood the importance of the model and the importance of the project. I think we've gone out strengthened from this experience.

Without any time for lunch, no more than 10 minutes I go to the annual general meeting of the WFCP. The representative of AoC (Association of Colleges UK) proposes me to be a member in the board of directors of the organization and it is accepted unanimously, That means that the new board of directors of the Association will be composed by:

Australia:  Martin Riodan Chief executive Australia National Secretariat
Basque Country: José Luis Fernández Maure International Manager TKNIKA
Brazil: Claudio Ricardo Gomes de Lima: Reitor Instituto Federal do Ceara and past president Conselho nacional Educacao
Canada: James Knight: President Association of Canadian community Colleges
China: Dr Jiang Bo. Secretary General of China Education Association for International exchange
Kenya: Mr Olubunmi Owoso. Secretary General of Commonwealth Association of Polytechnics in Africa
Mexico: Dr Jesus Maria Contreras. president Asociación de Universidades Tecnológicas.
Senegal: Mr Ibrahima Toukara. Reseau des Establissements de Formacion Professionelle du Senegal
UK: Martin Doel. Cheif Executive Association of Colleges UK
USA: Walter Bumphus. President American Association of Community Colleges.

In the afternoon there are another four different presentations based on Transforming countries and Institutions . Speakers from Mozambique, minister of Education, Excellency Zeferino Martins, from Jamaica executive director Caribbean Maritime Institute, Dr Fritz Pinnock, from the Asian development bank Ms Shati Jagannathan and finally head of United Nations  Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. International Centre for Technical and Vocational Education and Training, Dr Shyamal Majumdar . Very interesting experiences explaining the way the proceedings they are following to get a real transformation in their own countries or institutions.

Gaur, konferentziaren bigarren eguna da, eta ez dakit eguraldiaren eragina izan den, edota ingelesez ase ase eginda amaitu naizen, euskaraz idaztera bultzatuta sentitu naiz.

Goizeko 8.30 etan hasi gara igandeko goiza. Begien bistan liderazgoaren inguruan lau hitzaldi, bi liderazgoa aldaketarako ezinbesteko tresna bilakatu dela eta beste bi, liderazgoaren eraginez emandako adibidetan izandako aldaketak azalarazteko

Lehenengo biak diskurtsoaren gakoak darabiltzate era magistralean, abiaduraren aldaketak, doinuaren gora beherak, hunkitzeko edota barrez lehertzeko egoera desberdinen erabilerak, etenaldi neurtuak, bien ahotsetan, adientzia komeni zaien esparrura samur eramateko ikaragarri baliatzen dute.

Ann Buller, (Chair, ACCC Board and President and CEO. Centennila College. Canada), pasioaz betetako hitzadia ematen digu, hizkuntza zuzena eta ikastetxeetako irakasleen konpromisoa bilatuz. Berehala lortzen du konplizitatea eta buruak gora eta behera bere hitzak babeztuz horrela erakusten dute. gazteek behar duten itxaropena, formakuntza, konpromisoa gizartearekiko biolentzian ez jausteko, Liderazgoa maitasunean, motibazioan, konpromisoan, humore onean eta bizitzan kokatzen du, norberaren erakundearekiko konpromiso eta fideltasunean besteak norberarekin aurrera eraman ahal izateko.

Lideratu, maitau, lehertu barre egiten, jauzi, zutitu eta berriro hasi prozesua. Ez daude miraririk, Sala beteta dago, 800 pertsonatik gora daude adi.

Aukera baldin baduzue web orrialdera joatea gomendatzen dizuet, nik azaldutakoa baina askoz sakonagoa eta  argumentuz betetako diskurtsoa topatuko duzuelako.

Bigarrena Lieutenant-General The Honourable Roméo A. Dallarie. Bera ere, aditz samurreko hizlaria da eta zertaz hitz egiten duen badaki. Hala ere, kasu honetan ez dut baloraziorik egingo, agian kultur desberinetatik abiatuta kritikaren justifikazioa zaila topatzea izan daiteke. Oso pertsona errespetagarria da Kanada osoan, eta prestigio handiko gizona baina liderazgoaren inguruan bere esparru militarera eramaten du askotan diskurtsoa eta zaila egiten zait eroso sentitzea. Nahi duenak ere, izango du web orrialdean ikusteko aukera.

Goizean jarraituz, eta nolabaiteko elkarren arteko hitzaldia izanik, Claudio Ricardo Gomes de Lima (reitor Instituto Fedral de Educacao, Ciencia e Tecnologia do Ceará and Past president Conselho Nacional das instituicoes da Rede Federal de Educacao Profissional, Cientifica e Tecnologica (CONIF) de Brazil)  eta Brian Tamblin, president and CEO, Georgian College, liderazgoaren inguruan bakoitzak bere herrialdetik abiatuta eta hezkuntza gai nagusia hartuz, hitzaldi atseginak ematen digute.

11.00 etatik aurrera dialogues with Worth Having, elkarrizketak eta aurkezpen desberdinak, batzuk ikasleek emandakoak, nazioarte prozesuaren inguruan, Hezkuntza eta Teknologia, Kalitatearen inguruan beste bat, zeharkako konpetenziaren inguruan beste bat, sistematik kanpo arriskuan geratzeko dauden gazteak eta emakumeak, garapen erregionala, indigenak, liderazgoa transformaziorako,

Eta gero bazkaria, entsalada, oilasko pintxoak eta ura edota tomate zukua. Ai ama!!!

Arratsaldean bi bilera jarraian, bat biharko RAINOVAko aurkezpena  antolatzeko eta beste bat Sylvain Goudreaurekin aurkezpen bera nola egingo dugun erabakitzeko. Oso bilera interesgarria izan da eta gainera beharrezkoa, zeren eta guretzat garbi zegoena bestearentzat garbi izateko, gauza batzuk aldatzea erabaki dugu.

Arratsaldeko zazpiretan bi pisuko autobus zahar bat etorri da bila afaltzera eramateko. Ez dugu egin ezta kilometro bat ere, azpian zerbait jo duenean eta ura irtetzen hasi denen artean. Denak behera eta 15 minututan beste autobus larrosa eta luze bat. Halifax irla bat da eta irtetzeko zubi luze bat gurutzatu dugu. Bista ederrak daude eskuma ezkerran. Ikastetxe batean da festa, ikasle eta irakasle koloredun kamisetakin gure zain daude non nahi. Barruan jatekoa, ganbak, barazkiak, etabar eta ardoa, kopa batera inbitatuta gaude baina bigarrenetik aurrera 6 dolar. Ez dago txikiteoa egiteko modukorik.
Bi agertoki daude eta zoragarri jo eta kantu egiten duen ikasle talde bat. Oso gustura egon gara, denekin, beste era batera egoteko aukera izan dugu eta. Gaueko 10.00etan bueltan gaude hotelean

 

International conference of WFCP in Halifax

Yesterday, after a long travel from Bilbao, Madrid to Boston, finally I arrived to Halifax in Nova Scotia. If it is so long for me, it is difficult to imagine the Basque fishermen approaching the coast after so long travels in small boats to fish code or whales. Maybe the good relation they maintain with the Mik´maq thorugh more than 4 centuries, was a first class prize after so much suffering.

Weather is quite cloudy today but the temperature is not bad.

We start this afternoon with the conference. The high quality level of speakers and workshops guarantee that the conference will be a success. During the morning I will have the chance to go to explore the surroundings to have a clear image about the place I am standing the following five days. 

Finally it was not the full morning free as I imagined but anyway, I felt as if I were at home. 8.15 in the morning and visiting the farmers´ market as I usually do in my home town. I am sure that someone missed me this morning there. 

Tomato plants, aubergines, new potatoes, different flowers everywhere: William cullina,  New England Aster, Swamp Milkweed, Sun Patien, Kanga Anigozanthos, King Tut...etc. Artisans, sausages and bakery places mixed, but sharing an harmonious atmosphere with families and also youngsters going around in a very pleasant way.

In the way there, fishing boats take a rest for the weekend and bars and shops are still closed.

 09.00, it is time to go to the meeting. 

It has been an interesting experience. I have met the former minister of Education from Chile and the current vice-minister of Education from Bolivia. Both are very interesting and enthusiastic regarding to education and mainly regarding to Technical applied education and applied research.

We shared good conversations during the meeting and the lunch.

Later on, it was the turn for the keynotes. The first one is introduced by Paul Brenan, Elder Catherine Martin, Mi´kmaw filmmaker, drummer and educator. She brings to the conference a halo of spiritualism and mystery based on an native ritual prepared with smoke and drums´sound. All the people stands up while she is singing. When she finished I had the chance to meet her and talk about the Basque fishermen and the collaboration with the Mi´kmaw during centuries. Maybe she will visit us in a near future

Regarding to the keynote speakers, there were two, for different reasons, that should be highlighted:

1. Betty Ann Lavallée, national chief of the Congress of Aboriginal peoples who drew a passionate  defense of the aborigines´ rights and a deep denounce of the conditions they are suffering. It is necessary, she pointed out, the implication of applied education providers, regional and national governments, not only in Canada but also all over the world, to be aware about the importance for the future of a country to respect and save the values of the indigenous nations.

1. Vicente Fox, former prime minister of Mexico. From the advantage that gives to be known all over the world because of his political background, he rushed into different statements that could be found polemics from different points of view. An analysis of the actual society leadership trends, changing the established power  from the west to the east, a defense in this sense of the necessity of collaboration to recover, by USA and Canada, also with the help of Mexico of course, the role lost in terms of leadership in the world. A leadership based on the values of democracy that should be transmitted by further applied education and Community Colleges, "You lead students to the future" he pointed out to an  captivated audience by his easy eloquent speech. The first show for the gallery.  He continued with the BRICS (Brazil, Rusia, India and China) and demanded the role of Mexico over most of the countries in this group. Obviously he couldn´t finish his statetment without making a reference to the current situation in his country with hundreds of corpses on the table every month Here he dodged the issue and started giving out beatings in two senses: First to Venezuela, Bolivia and Peru as drugs´ producers and then to USA and Canada as main consumers. I agree with him in one thing, he defended the need to legalize drugs together with the implication of the educational sectors in showing the danger of the consume of drugs and finally after a question about why didin´he do it when he was the president, he talked about the difference between the situation he afforded when he was a president and the situation nowadays. He told that Mexico is loosing opportunities, youngsters and talents and that nobody of the people involved in crimes was born as a criminal, it is not in the genes. 

          Finally, taking advantage again of the captivated audience, he talked about democracy, new ideas, values, ethics, behaviours, new ideas and new programmes that could be started everyday. He talked that well being is more important than a larger salary and finalized his statement inviting people to visit Fox education foundation where we will taste the best enchiladas and taste the best tequila and the audience standing up broke between rounds of applause.