The IB Asia Pacific annual conference this year took place in Hong Kong from March 24 to 26. Ally Wu, director of Shen Wai International School (SWIS), was invited to be one of the keynote speakers and present during the plenary session, which has made her the first IB practitioner of Chinese nationality to deliver a keynote speech during an IB Global Conference. Wu’s speech was a huge success. Numerous educators from all over the world commented that they felt understood, encouraged, and inspired. The speech delivered by Wu encourages people, including educators, parents and students, to be an agent of change. During the speech, Wu shared her personal story as the founding director of SWIS, the ups and downs she had gone through, the challenges she had faced, the inspiration she got from the role models around her, and the actions she and her team under took in striving for success. She also shared the ripple effect these actions have caused within the SWIS community, ranging from Pre-K to secondary students, who have chosen to be agents of change and make the world a better place. Wu’s speech has set a very positive image for SWIS, as a young energetic IB world school, and greatly promoted SWIS within the IB arena. The IB Global Conference is a platform to get inspired by a number of high-profile speakers and presentations. The conference offers teachers a chance to meet, engage and share experiences with other IB educators from all over the world. They gather during the meeting to discover new ideas for IB programs, learn from IB practitioners, reflect on their own practice, and leave with inspiration and renewed energy to bring back to their schools. (SD-Agencies) | 