Now, a group of members have stepped forward as candidates for elections this month (September, 2024) to fill five open seats in the next round of elections for the OEG Board. While voting for the board is in the hands of representatives from organizational members, in the spirit of recognition I thought it useful to first thank them, and let the community learn more about these candidates. Let’s get to know them better!
Consider this topic an open discussion for you to ask questions of or let your open education interests known to the candidates. This is also an opportunity for candidates as well to say more to the community about their motivations to be on the board.
Our thanks to the following people who have stepped up with an interest to serve on the OEGlobal Board. Their listed bios, areas of expertise, vision, and OEGlobal ideas provided with the information for the 2024 board election but use this space as an informal place to get to know the 2024 candidates listed below
We included their OEG Connect username so you can see their profiles and contact them directly. Plus, they have all been granted OEG Connect badges as board candidates.
Beatrice Canales, Alamo Colleges District, San Antonio College, USA @oerideal
Glenda Cox, University of Cape Town, South Africa @glencox
Perrine de Coetlogon, Open Education France, France @perrinecoet
A lot goes on behind the scenes that many people may not realize. Whether you’re an outsider looking in or already a part of the Board, how do you see yourself contributing to OEGlobal? Beyond helping to achieve the strategic plan, what practical steps can you take to support the organization’s operations? This could include efforts like maintaining and promoting membership, ensuring the organization’s technological needs are met, and actively seeking funding opportunities to help OEGlobal grow to support a small staff juggling many tasks/projects.
Hi Heather! I’d like to initiate discussions on how we can make OE Global more global. As a member of the 2023 conference program committee, I noticed that we had more work to do in supporting delegates facing financial challenges. In some cases, we could assist delegates with the conference registration fee but I would like to see a more robust support system in place. I would like seek out and solicit more funding to support a scholarship program that would enable more participants to attend the conference. This would start with an initial fund that could support with registration fees and then eventually expand to funding for flights and hotel. Our program committee noted that for some people, particularly in the global south, the costs of attending are prohibitive. I would like to change that!
Thank you, Robert! I appreciate you adding to this discussion. I love the idea of a scholarship program. There are so many open practitioners out there that can’t attend the conference due to cost and I hope we can talk about doing more to assist!
Hello dear colleagues. Thanks for the question Heather. I really appreciate and understand first hand the dilemma of a lack of funding to attend conferences. It is expensive in terms of finances but also the time it takes to travel (not to mention the jet lag). The idea of discussions about and striving towards a more Global organisation is very necessary for us to realise the imperative of opportunities to access education for all.
I am hoping that I can do more advocacy work in South Africa, but also through UNESCO networks that extend across Africa and the global south in order to increase membership.
I am also very passionate about growing the next generation of open educators and finding ways for more students to attend OE Global conferences for inspiration and to be included in this vibrant community.