CEESA | Central and Eastern European Schools Association

The 27th Annual CEESA Conference - “Transforming Education Through Communities”

March 16-18, 2017 at Hotel Marinela in Sofia, Bulgaria.

Featuring

One day of Pre-Conference sessions and Job-Alikes on Thursday, March 16
Invited presenters: Dr. Timothy Stuart, Tim Burns, Ewan McIntosh, Ian Stuart, Dr. Fran Prolman, Monica Medina-Olds, Michael Furdyk, Dr. Will Parnell, and more
Presentations from CEESA Educators
CEESA-ECIS MSIS Cohort, Literacy Coach Cohort, AC/AD Spring Meeting
Social and cultural activities - get to know Sofia!

NEW FEATURE: Innovation Design Hub - find out more!

Take a look at the Conference schedule!

CONFERENCE REGISTRATION IS NOW OPEN!

Register as a Participant! Register as an Exhibitor!

Sign up to our Conference mailing list and make sure you don’t miss any important updates.

Program

program

Invitation Letter from AAS Sofia

Dear Colleagues,

It is a pleasure and privilege to invite you to the 27th Annual CEESA Conference - March, 2017 in Sofia.

Our international schools are populated with creative, motivated, well-supported and community-minded people. We have the good fortune of wonderful facilities, access to resources and a plethora of learning opportunities. With good fortune comes a duty to use our circumstances to continually improve education and learning, within and throughout our respective communities and beyond.

In education we are interdependent with a veritable cacophony of communities... communities of practice, parent communities, business communities, student communities, online communities, cultural communities, learning communities, communities of circumstance, and dare I be a little glib and mention gated communities.

Community is the focus of the 2017 CEESA Conference. Teaching and learning is a messy and rewarding journey that exemplifies the proverb, “It takes a village to raise a child.” The 2015 CEESA Conference theme focused on global citizenship. In 2016 the Conference concentrated on personalized learning. The focal point of the 2017 Conference, community, is the natural connector between global and personal. Leveraging and understanding the many communities involved with and influencing education is paramount to international education - indeed each community brings to light different perspectives on education. Thus, at the heart of our conference will be the question, “Transforming education through communities - What’s your perspective?”

The dedicated and discerning CEESA team has cultivated and curated an inspiring and intriguing group of thought-provoking leaders who will engage us in enticing conversations and collaborations. While being virtually present at the conference and pre-conference via social media (i.e. an online community) can be fruitful, there is still nothing quite like the invigoration and vivification of meeting face-to-face with real people, sharing real experiences and in real time.

Our conference seeks to augment and affirm the journey of becoming better teachers and learners and to further forge the communities that will engage and support us in building our capacity as a community of learners. In the coming months you can access the full conference program from the CEESA website at ceesa.org We look forward to expanding our learning community as we work together in aspiration of CEESA’s vision: ”leads educational transformation through collaboration.”

See you in Sofia, March 2017!

Jim Urquhart

Jim Urquhart
Director
Anglo-American School of Sofia

Participants Conference Fees

Pre-Conference Registration

(includes coffee/tea breaks & lunch)

Member	$150
Associate Member	$150
Non-Member	$175
Job-A-Like for members	Free of Charge
Job-A-Like for non members	$100

Conference Registration * (Friday, March 17 & Saturday, March 18)

(includes coffee/tea breaks, lunch, keynote & workshop sessions, CEESA Activities and Celebration)

Member	$450
Associate Member	$450
Non-Member	$500
Retired educators	$300
Presenter Discount* * The discount should be shared if there is more than one presenter per workshop.	$75

AD/AC Program Registration (Friday, March 17 & Saturday, March 18)

(includes coffee/tea breaks, lunch, keynote & workshop sessions, CEESA Activities and Celebration on Friday and Saturday. Course material is NOT included and will be collected on site.)

Member and Associate Member	$400
Non-Member	$500
Course material	TBD

Miscellaneous Costs

Spouse’s fee (includes coffee/tea, lunch, keynote sessions, CEESA Activities and Celebration)	$250
CEESA Celebration Guest Ticket	$80

CEESA’s Conference Cancellation Policy

Cancellations up to February 16, 2017 will be refunded in full, minus a 25% administration fee.

For cancellations after February 16, 2017 you will be billed the total cost of your registration, unless caused by illness or a major family emergency.

To avoid cancellations, registrations can be transferred to new participants at no additional cost.

A written request for refund needs to be submitted to the Executive Director of CEESA.

Exhibitors Conference Fees

Exhibitor’s Registration Fees

(includes coffee/tea breaks, lunch, keynote sessions, CEESA Activities and Celebration)

Associate Member

Registration fee	$300 (incl. one table)
Each additional table	$150
Each additional person	$300
Digital advertisement on CEESA’s Conference page	Free of charge

Non-Member

Registration fee	$650 (incl. one table)
Each additional table	$200
Each additional person	$350
Digital advertisement on CEESA’s Conference page	Free of charge

Miscellaneous Costs

Spouse’s fee (includes coffee/tea, lunch, keynote sessions, CEESA Activities and Celebration)	$250
CEESA Celebration Guest Ticket	$80

Sponsor Oportunity

Conference Institute Presenter	$2,000
Morning Coffee Break on Friday	$1,000
Morning Coffee Break on Saturday	$1,000
Friday Lunch	$1,500
Saturday Lunch	$1,500
CEESA Celebration on Saturday night	$5,000 / $2,500 (partial)
CEESA Celebration Entertainment	$1,500

When Sponsoring

Your name and logo/logo will be prominently displayed at the Conference and on the Conference website.

Those sponsoring speakers will be acknowledged at the Conference’s introductory remarks.

Sponsored events will be acknowledged at the events. Priority will be given to sponsors for location in the exhibit hall.

CEESA’s Conference Cancellation Policy

Cancellations up to February 16, 2017 will be refunded in full, minus a 25% administration fee.

For cancellations after February 16, 2017 you will be billed the total cost of your registration, unless caused by illness or a major family emergency.

To avoid cancellations, registrations can be transferred to new participants at no additional cost.

A written request for refund needs to be submitted to the Executive Director of CEESA.

CEESA’s Conference Cancellation Policy

Cancellations up to February 16, 2017 will be refunded in full, minus a 25% administration fee.

For cancellations after February 16, 2017 you will be billed the total cost of your registration, unless caused by illness or a major family emergency.

To avoid cancellations, registrations can be transferred to new participants at no additional cost.

A written request for refund needs to be submitted to the Executive Director of CEESA.

Call for Workshop

Call for Workshop/Teacher Presenters

Workshop presentations on Friday, March 17 or Saturday, March 18
15-20 slots available
60-minute or 90-minute slots
$75 discount for CEESA’s teacher presenters (to be shared if there are co-presenters)
Deadline: Monday, November 16, 2016

Conference Hotel

The 27th Annual CEESA Conference will take place at Hotel Marinela.

The hotel is situated in the green part of Sofia, just a few metro stops from the city center. The metro station is located next to the hotel.

HOTEL RESERVATIONS

To get the special discounted rate for an Economy or a Standard hotel room, you have to book online using the Promo code: CEESACONF

Make sure to book your accommodation by February 15, 2017. After this date we cannot guarantee vacancy or the Conference rate.

ROOM RATES

(per room per night)

Single Economy €66 / Deluxe €95
Double Economy €76 / Deluxe €105

included: buffet breakfast, Internet and VAT
not included: city tax (€0.67 per person per night)

CANCELLATION POLICY

for hotel room reservations at Hotel Marinela

In case of cancellation by the guest due to any reason:

Cancellation of room 60-30 days before arrival - free of charge
Cancellation of room 29-8 days before arrival - one night will be charged to the guest’s credit card
Cancellation of room 7 days before arrival, or no show - 100% of the total cost will be charged to the guest’s credit card

Draft Conference Program

Thursday, March 16, 2017 • Pre-Conference day

Choices of half day & full day tours

8:30-16:00 Full day Pre-Conference sessions at AAS Sofia
After 14:00 Set up Exhibition in the hotel Exhibition Hall
17:00-19:00 Get-together in the hotel common areas for collaboration

Friday, March 17, 2017 • Conference day

08:30-09:15 Opening ceremony
09:20-10:15 Job-Alikes
10:15-10:30 Coffee/tea break in the Exhibition Hall
10:30-12:00 90 minutes workshop sessions
12:00-13:00 Lunch buffet in the hotel restaurant
13:00-14:30 90 minutes workshop sessions
14:30-15:00 Coffee/tea break in Exhibition Hall
15:00-16:30 90 minutes workshop sessions
16:30-18:30 Exhibitors Reception in Exhibit Hall
Evening Dinner on your own in Sofia / VIP dinner

Saturday, March 18, 2017 • Conference day

08:00-08:30 Welcome Coffee in the Exhibit Hall
08:30-10:00 90 minutes workshop sessions
10:00-10:30 Coffee/tea break in the Exhibition Hall
10:30-12:00 90 minutes workshop sessions
12:00-12:45 Lunch buffet in the hotel restaurant
12:45-14:00 75 minutes workshop sessions
14:00-15:00 Job-Alikes
15:30 Free time to explore Sofia
19:30 CEESA Gala Celebration at the hotel

Sunday, March 19, 2017

Choices of half day & full day tours

Tours

Why not make the best of your free time in Sofia and explore the city and the surrounding attractions on one of the guided tours?

You can choose between full-day tours on Thursday and Sunday between 9am and 5pm, and half-day tours from Thursday until Sunday, either from 9am until 1pm, or 3pm until 7pm.

All tours are described in the attached brochure.

For more information and for reservations, please contact the provider Lyuba Tours directly: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

City guide

Get to know the charming city of Sofia and the welcoming Bulgarian culture with this printable city guide - especially useful if you decide to go on a self-guided tour of the city.

Airport Transfer

Taxis are an affordable option when travelling from the airport. Look for the “OK Супертранс” (OK Supertrans) cars lined up just in front of the terminal. The price of a trip to Hotel Marinela or the AAS Sofia campus is under 20 lv (about 10€). The tariff should be clearly displayed on the side window of the taxi and should be around 0.80 lv per km.

Beware of drivers that approach you in the terminal and try to offer you a ride, their service can be up to three times more expensive.

For convenience pre-book your taxi at OK Supertrans website.

Alternatively, you can use Sofia’s metro system, which is safe and inexpensive. A single ticket costs 1.60 lv (about 0.80€) and you can buy it at any metro station.

The airport metro station is located just outside Terminal 2, while the station nearest to Hotel Marinela is called “James Bourchier”, two minutes away from the hotel entrance.

You will need to switch lines at the “Serdika” station.

Conference Schedules

The 2017 CEESA Conference schedule is made of four PDF files which you can find below:

Pre-Conference schedule for Thursday, 16 March
Conference Day 1 schedule for Friday, 17 March
Conference Day 2 schedule for Saturday, 18 March
Innovation Design Hub schedule for the program running on Conference Days 1 & 2

Innovation Design Hub

Innovation Design Hub is a new program at the CEESA Conference; an idea room designed to inspire thinking and collaboration. The Hub will have up to 2 presentation areas with sessions lasting for 30 minutes: 20 minutes for presentation and 10 minutes for discussion. We included a number of speakers in the program so each half-hour scheduled slot will feature a unique presentation. Innovation Design Hub will run on Friday and Saturday during Conference hours.

See the list of Innovation Design Hub presentations.

Shipping Information

Shipping of materials can be complicated, especially if you are sending from outside the EU.

As usual, CEESA will not be involved in the shipment procedures. We strongly advise exhibitors to contact the below mentioned company before sending anything:

Allied Pickfords

Friday Night Group Dinner

Join AAS Ambassadors for a small group dinner on Friday night. Sign up for a specific restaurant and your ambassador will meet you at the hotel to take you out.

To see all of the restaurant options, please download the PDF file attached below.

To sign up, please fill out this form.

If you have any questions about Friday night dinners, feel free to email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..