– The symposium, which brought together key global language accrediting bodies, took place on 1 September 2011 in London, at the British Council headquarters – a magnificent edifice on an exclusive location in Trafalgar Square, at the heart of London.

– The main themes of the symposium, which was jointly organized by Accreditation UK, NEAS and EAQUALS, were standards and criteria for accreditation, and the methods of and procedures for verification.

– The symposium was attended by 45 participants from 11 countries: the USA, the UK, Australia, Serbia, Romania, Canada, Croatia, Malta, Italy, France, and Ireland.

– It has truly been a great honour to associate with the exceptional representatives of the eminent British Council centres worldwide, who have for the first time gathered in one place. Even for an organization such as the British Council this was a novelty and a grand gathering. Apart from the directors of British Council centres from all around the world, the list of participants included school directors, NEAS representatives, EAQUALS inspectors and the representatives of school associations from our region.

– The workshops were of high quality and well attended. Workshop themes were current and analyzed from one country to another. An interesting novelty was the increased worldwide demand for taking the IELTS test. This was not news to us. The experience which I had presented was of major importance for the people in British Council. Our colleagues from Romania and Croatia had a similar opinion.

– I have made quite a few contacts and I believe that I have found several lecturers for our future gatherings and conferences. Some of them have already been here, while others would like to come.

– The event was excellently organized and YALS is now recognizable not only in London, but in the whole world as well. I have handed out our brochures, and our hosts hope that we will take part in similar gatherings in the future. It has been an honour to represent our YALS.

Biljana Barna

New English School

YALS member

New English School

YALS member