by Ora W.Y. Kwo

In April 1996, I attended a conference in Pakistan hosted by the Institute for Educational Development (IED) of the Aga Khan University in Karachi. The conference was co-sponsored by the Commonwealth Secretariat, UNESCO and UNDP. It was an inspiring occasion, which led me to rethink aspects of our own approach to teacher education in Hong Kong.

The conference brought together teacher educators from Pakistan and abroad to share their experiences. It lasted for three full days, with 20 sessions and many papers and group presentations. The 182 participants included 20 invited scholars (about 11% of the total number of participants) from Africa, Asia, Europe, the Middle East and North America. Major themes included professional development, reform of teacher education, and changing roles of teachers in the 21st century.

The interflow of ideas and experiences was very intensive, with focus on both the conceptualisation of change and actual practice in classrooms. The zeal of all IED academic and clerical staff in making the conference a success was particularly noteworthy in a place continually troubled by political unrest. In fact, at the end of Day One the conference organisers announced that because of anticipated strikes (including gunfire) in the IED district, the venue would be moved to the main campus of the Aga Khan University. The conference proceeded as planned, thanks to the organisers' skilful emergency arrangements.

It was a pleasure to be immersed in a culture where hierarchical structure was less explicit, and where everybody behaved like leaders in their own ways. Seeing how much the IED professionals could achieve despite their enormous constraints, I felt that Hong Kong teacher educators, who operate in a relatively stable environment with abundant resources, ought to achieve much more than they currently do! I was also stimulated by the variety of experiences reported in the Asia-Pacific region. It is clear that we should network more actively with our neighbours for mutual support and enrichment.