Read Maríaa Carla`s report on the Conference : For the first time in many years , I was the lucky one to win the free ticket to the FAAPI Conference . At first , owing to my busy lifestyle , I doubted whether I would be able to attend . Then , as the excitement took hold , I invited a close friend to join me and off we went . This ticket was a springboard towards an incredibly enriching experience .
FAAPI 2016 was unlike any other before - it was one with a difference . It was the special 41 st edition , since many dates coincidedd : 25 years of the first FAAPI in San Juan , 200 years of our Bicentenary as a nation and
400 years of Shakespeare ´ s death .
As the logo shows , the triangular figure consists of an arrangement of small triangles that interact in a variety of hues of colours , signifyingg collaboration and multidisciplinary work : “ Growth throughh co-operation ”. This image creates an arrow head which symbolizes the idea of growth , while resembling the mountainous landscape in San Juan .
I really consider that this logo represents what this 41 st FAAPI edition was all about : a great variety of academically well-prepared plenaries and semi plenaries
, concurrent sessions , commercial presentations and sponsored workshops .
Noteworthy among the excellent national and international speakers present at this event were : Silvanaa Richardson , Claudia Ferradas and Malena Solda , Luke
Prodromou ,
Aziz Abu Sarah , Len
Unsworth , Jair Félix , Lucy Crichton and Dave Alan .
Some of the presentations that affected me strongly were : Claudia Ferradas ´ lecture which commemorated the
400 th anniversary of Shakespearee ´ s death and dramatized a series of scenes from Shakespeare ´ s plays as well as a sonnet together with Malena Sola . It was an authentic delight for Shakespeare lovers .
Aziz Abu Sarah ´ s presentation exploring the power of education to heal conflicts between hostile communities in the
ELT class was a spine-chilling experience for all the attendees - he received a warm and spontaneous standing ovation .
Jair Félix ´ s speech focusing on how to help students develop awareness of the wider world and their own role as world citizens held a clear message that language teachers should integrate global issues into their
ELT class .
Luke Prodromou ´ s plenary presenting techniques to develop 21st century skills was thoroughly motivating and encouraged us to put them into practice as soon as possible . Mónica Rodriguez Salvo ´ s concurrent session on “ Mindfulness for Educators
” provided a practical guide to discover how Mindfulness can improve students ’ and our academicc outcomes in addition to our welll being .
The array of venues , which were within a wide walking distance of each other , provided us with the opportunity to take in the fresh air as we strolled through “ Parque de Mayo ”.