Andreia Inamorato
Open Education Global (OEGlobal) has announced this week my joining as its executive director, replacing the remarkable Paul Stacey. It is a great honour for me to have been chosen for such a special and strategic role.
I have been doing research on open education for 16 years now. I started in 2006 at the Open University UK on the OpenLearn and OLnet projects (2006-2011). Then, at the European Commission (2013-2022), I have co-developed the OpenEdu framework, which led to several other publications and projects at the European Level, to include the Practical Guidelines on Open Education for Academics. I have been a member of the OEGlobal community throughout this trajectory, having collaborated by organising and participating in online events focusing on e.g. Europe and Brazil for the Open Education Week, as well as by attending the fantastic OEGlobal conferences (e.g. here). Needless to say that I feel entirely at home when it comes to OEGlobal, because of its wonderful people and the fact that we share the same values and goals. I have always thought of this organisation with high regard, due to its visible commitment to its mission; its responsive and knowledgeable staff, its international, high-caliber board of directors, as well as its visionary funding organisations. Let alone the ever-growing list of member institutions all over the world, including universities, schools, community colleges, and more recently individual members (of which the latter I am included). I love the sense of community one feels when joining OEGlobal: it is a welcoming crowd, where everyone shares knowledge and supports each other to be better every day, by building the vision and the pathway for open education at all education levels.
I am indeed honoured and thankful to have been given the opportunity to keep on working on what I believe in and help move forward the open education agenda, alongside this incredible organisation and its members. This blog post is a short acknowledgment and thank you note to all in OEGlobal. I cannot name all of you I’m afraid, so by representation, I mention Lena Patterson, Cathy Casserly, Anabella Botbol and Aleksandra Fernandes da Costa – thank you for leading this journey, which brought me to this fabulous place. Many thanks also go to the board of directors, for the unanimous choice and the warm welcome. Special thanks to all that have welcomed me via the OEGlobal Connect and through social media on Twitter; Facebook and LinkedIn – I am delighted with the wonderful messages and good wishes you sent me! Last but not least, I would like to thank Paul Stacey for the great work he has done to OEGlobal over the past five years, and wish him all the best for the future.
I very much look forward to collaborating further with OEGlobal from mid November onwards, its members, and all that support the open education movement.
With gratitude and appreciation, Andreia.