The International Educational Leadership Conference

March 6-9, 2024, Hungary

Theme: Anchors of Hope for Christian Education

Main Session Titles:

• Anchors of Hope for Christian Education in the Midst of Storms 
• Gender Ideology and the Christian School's Response 
• AI - Opportunities and Challenges for the Christian School 
• Inspiring Hope as Christian School Leaders 

Download the Draft Schedule here  /  Download promotional flyer

Keynote Speakers: 

Laurens van der Tang

Laurens is an opinion maker within the conservative Reformed community and serves as an elder within the Reformed Congregations in the Netherlands. In this capacity, he contributes to the Reformatorisch Dagblad and the magazine De Wachter Sions.

He pursued his higher professional education at the Hogeschool Arnhem and joined the software company Baan Company in 1987. From 1990, he was a member of the Board of Directors, and from 2000 to 2003, he served as the president. Since 2006, he has been the CEO of VitalHealth Software, a company specializing in developing software for the medical sector. Additionally, he is an active investor with Forward Enterprises, focusing on building sustainable software enterprises. Furthermore, he holds various board positions within the Reformed community.

Steve Beegoo

Currently, Head of Education for Christian Concern, Steve has worked in the educational and ecclesiastical arenas for nearly 30 years. He has been a teacher in state, special and independent schools, has led in Church of England and Independent Christian schools, and was principal at The King’s School Witney over a period of 8 years. Steve pastored Bicester Community Church for 9 years, where he pioneered a Christian pre-school as a part of a community outreach project. He has supported schools and educational organisations nationally, and internationally including in Asia, Africa, South America, Australia, and Europe. Steve is passionate in helping the church recognise the central role children’s discipleship has in fulfilling ‘The Great Commission’ and in seeing new schools develop. He regularly speaks at events, in the media, and writes articles on issues associated with Christian freedoms and education. Steve is also the CEO of The Christian Schools’ Trust, the vice chairman of the Christian Coalition for Education and a member of the Standing Advisory Council for RE in Oxfordshire which all brings him into contact with leaders of many organisations and other influencers. Steve holds a degree in Biology from Southampton University, a PGCE from Oxford Brookes University and holds the NPQH (National Professional Qualification for Headteachers). He is married with three children.

Laszlo Demeter

Laci is dedicated to enhancing Christian schools and educators, preparing students for life with an eternal outlook. With a rich academic background including an MSc in Engineering, MA in Teaching EFL, MEd in Christian School Education, and EdS in Educational Leadership, Laci has been part of ACSI Europe since 1995 and became Europe Director in 2011. He frequently teaches at Christian education conferences worldwide. Laci, along with his wife Rita, is a parent to six children and grandparent to five.

Rationale:

The storms of culture, politics, economies and ideas require us to be anchored to what is unmovable. What elements of Christian Education should be strengthened to anchor Christian schools and students in God's Word and His Truth? IELC 2024 will provide opportunities to investigate and discuss these anchors of hope together, praying for God's grace and looking to Him for guidance.

This event will also include a special celebration for ACSI Europe's 30 years of service to Christian schools, remembering God's goodness and asking for His leading in the coming years.

The International Educational Leadership Conference brings together Christian school leaders for strategic collaboration and inspiration from across Europe and beyond. ACSI Europe has hosted the IELC since 2015 for participants from more than 40 countries and we are blessed to be able to partner with you for the promotion of quality Christ-centered education around the world.

Conference Goals:

• Inspire a shared vision for Christian education globally
• Encourage fellowship among Christian school leaders
• Encourage collaboration among Christian schools
• Inspire biblical leadership through interactive sessions

Conference Location: Budapest, Hungary

• Our conference venue will include hotel options as well as meals for participants.
• Hotel venue: Please book your own lodging based on your preferences. Rooms at Mercure/Ibis Budapest Castle Hill will be available at special rates. 

• After January 20 we cannot guarantee available rooms or access to the special rate.

   The preferential code will be included in your confirmation email with the hotel reservation links. The rates shown below are for 3 nights and for single rooms:

• for Ibis

• 

  and for Mercure

Program Details:

• This conference will highlight keynote speakers from various regions.
• Workshops will be available, presented by highly experienced and qualified educators working in Christian school settings.
• Various learning tracks will be offered to participants wanting to focus their attention on themes related to the opportunities for Christian education to address real and pressing challenges in our post-truth culture.
• We provide simultaneous translation in selected languages during the main sessions and the super seminars after evaluating the participant needs. If you do not speak English, you will need to provide your own translator for networking and other sessions.

Workshops

The conference organizing committee will select the workshops for the conference from the submitted proposals. Workshop Proposal Deadline January 22, 2024. Workshop Proposal Form

Workshop Titles and Descriptions:

1. All workshops must fit within the conference theme and be related to the opportunities for Christian education to address real and pressing challenges in our post-truth culture (e.g. artificial intelligence in education, sexual and gender identity confusion, biblical leadership, teacher training)
2. Please make your titles and descriptions "attention getting" and informative.
3. Many of the conference participants will be non-native English speakers but workshops must be presented in English.

The ACSI Europe Christian School Improvement Platform (CSIP)

ACSI is committed to supporting excellence in both academics and spiritual formation for Christian schools. ACSI Europe has developed a multi-lingual tool to build school communities through identifying strengths and weaknesses in a setting of strategic professional support between member schools and partner organizations. Your use of this platform as a member school will further enable you to build meaningful partnerships through your connections at IELC that best support the needs of your school community. You can read more about CSIP here.

Conference Booths and Partnership Development:

• Organizations can be assigned space to host conversations with other participants during the conference breaks.
• We encourage you to think about ways that you want to collaborate with schools from other countries for mutual benefit and support based in a biblical vision of education. The best encouragement for partnership is highlighting what you can offer to others in these partnership opportunities.
• Reserve your table by February 20, 2024 on this form. An extra fee will be collected for any organizations promoting paid services or products.

Conference Costs: 

Note that conference prices do not include accommodation. We will provide a link to discounted prices at the conference hotel where you may reserve your preferred room type in your confirmation email. You may also select from other local accommodation options.

* This is a subsidized price for certain participants, which helps to cover the costs of this event.

All registrations include 2 dinners, 2 lunches, 4 coffee breaks, access to main sessions, workshops, translation options, conference materials, the digital conference resources and networking as well as a trial access to CSIP.

A 5% discount is available for groups of 5 or more participants from the same school. Please request this at registration. If you attended INSPIRE in March of 2023, the amount you paid for INSPIRE can be applied as a credit at this event.

Payment and Cancellation Policy:

• Conference fees must be paid by January 30, 2024.
• Payment can be made by credit card or bank transfer after completing the registration process.
• Cancellations between January 30 and February 15 receive a 20% refund.
• No refunds or cancellations after February 15.

Updated on Feb. 12, 2024