MITIS Earns ISA Membership

April 2, 2009

MIT International School (MITIS) has gained membership in the International School Association (ISA) based in Geneva, Switzerland. In a letter dated April 2, 2009, ISA Chairman Jorge Segovia wrote, “ I offer you my congratulations and welcome you most warmly to the most senior of all the international associations of schools.” The International Schools Association works to promote international and intercultural understanding. In so doing, the Association espouses a number of values - peace, freedom, equality, tolerance and the celebration of both diversity and similarity - which express for the Association the essential meaning and purpose of multiculturalism and international mindedness. The ISA has members in 36 countries. The ISA Chairman added, “numbers are something, but the interaction, sharing, and mutual understanding that form the basis of internationalism are of much greater importance”. He expressed the hope that with ISA membership MITIS will find many learning opportunities for its students and teachers. MITIS is set to send students to the 7th Youth Leadership Seminar on June 29 –July 4, 2009 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. These seminars bring together young people from around the world to explore issues of global significance. The school will also send teachers to ISA annual seminars on key themes in international education and focusing on fundamental issues linking education and society. The seminars are held in Geneva in association with the International School of Geneva and the International Baccalaureate Organization (IBO). According to MITIS President, Dr. Bienvenido V. Santos, the school is also set to use ISA’s new publication “Internationalism in Schools – a Self-Study Guide” and to be one of the very first schools to earn ISA’s Certificate of Internationalism. This publication, developed in association with the University of Bath, offers a means of reflecting upon the nature of internationalism within schools. Dr. Santos, expressed optimism that with ISA membership and its Certificate of Internationalism, MITIS can express more forcefully and eloquently its convictions and best practices on internationalism and international education.