Bayview Room A

The IB celebrates its 40th anniversary in 2008, and has come a long way since Alec Peterson first developed and introduced the concept of the Diploma Programme in 1968. The goal back then was to facilitate the international mobility of students by providing schools with a curriculum and qualification recognized by universities around the world.

The IB began in 1968, one of the most tumultuous years in recent history. For four decades now, the core values of the IB have been tested. Time and time again they have been validated, and the IB has thrived while many other educational movements have come and gone. But there is much more to do.

Arun Manilal Gandhi is the fifth grandson of Mohandas Gandhi, and has spent much of his life promoting the principles of non-violence and social activism that made his grandfather one of the seminal figures of the 20th century. As an Indian growing up in South Africa, he had firsthand experience of the humiliations heaped on people because of the color of their skin.

When the IB began in 1968, even the most optimistic of its founders might have scoffed at the notion that 2500 schools would be offering IB programs by our fortieth anniversary. But that is only the start - in the next dozen years, the IB is expected to quadruple in size.

Destiny is a student who reflected on her class's use of a problematic scenario. Some of her classmates said, "This is getting us to think outside the box. It makes us curious." And Destiny said, "It's 3-D." This session will explore what Destiny meant by that by examining models of problematic scenarios in K-12.

Heads of IB World Schools will have an opportunity to engage in a dialogue to gather input about current issues and concerns as well to discuss the most important issues facing the IB community in North America as we prepare for growth and changes in the coming years.