Education Minister Hekia Parata has represented New Zealand at the state funeral for former president, Shimon Peres, extending her education visit to do so.

“It was a privilege to mark the passing of a national and international leader whose long life was committed to the service of his country, and to the relentless pursuit of peace”, Ms Parata said.

Ms Parata wrapped up discussions with education leaders and experts in Israel, which reinforced that New Zealand’s education is highly-regarded on the world stage.

Ms Parata joined other policy makers at the Global Education Industry Summit in Jerusalem, to examine the topic Educating for Innovation and Innovation in Education.

“We are all focussed on building education systems that prepare young people to meet the challenges of a 21st century economy,” says Ms Parata.

“New Zealand’s work on digital technologies in schools, including our recent announcement to explicitly strengthen digital technologies in the national curriculum, was of particular interest to many of the international experts at the Summit.”

Ms Parata also met with Google Israel and the Centre for Educational Technology, both of whom were particularly interested in the establishment of Communities of Online Learning.

“It was great to share the development of our Communities of Online Learning and our discussions emphasised that companies like Google and CET have a lot to offer our education system.”

Ms Parata was in Israel when former Israeli President Shimon Peres passed away at the age of 93. She extended her stay to represent New Zealand at his state funeral in Jerusalem.

The Minister is now making her way back to New Zealand.

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