As of this month, ReaLiTea is finally very real. We had our first virtual meeting on 19 January 2024, in which we planned forward for all the exciting work with which we will engage in the next few months, and laid out the groundwork for the deliverables and research outputs that will come out of the project.
These virtual meetings, along with the onsite transnational meetings, which will take place regularly throughout the course of the project are an important part of our project management and quality control procedures. They are a space to discuss our progress, report on any opportunities and challenges, and share ideas about how to empower teachers to engage with research and in research. Today's meeting was also a great team-building opportunity, as we made or re-established connections with colleagues globally.
Although many of the discussions today were administratively oriented, we also made some important decisions which, we think reflect our commitment towards equality and ethical responsibilty. For example, we have decided that our dissemination efforts should not use English as the only language of communication. To that end, we will work on making online spaces for ReaLiTea in multiple languages (e.g., German, Norwegian, Turkish and Modern Greek) in the next months. We also explored ways to increase the transparency and ethical accountability of the project, by ensuring compliance with the frameworks of all countries involved.
One belief that is at the core of ReaLiTea is that this is an inclusive project, and that you --the readers of this blog-- and the teachers who will benefit from this work are just as part of the ReaLiTea team as all of us --the people who participated in the meeting. As the project develops, we will be sharing updates about the research and resources we produce, the activities in which we take part, the challenges we meet and the solutions we find, and we would also like to hear your own feedback.
There lies the port; the vessel puffs her sail... and we hope that you join us as we together strive to do some work of noble note.