The educational summit that can dedicate an Argentine as "the best teacher in the world" has begun

Special Envoy – Dubai. From the plain this is not appreciated. You must see a panoramic photo to recognize the palm-shaped structure. A palm tree that is actually one of the largest man-made islands in the world. It's in Dubai where everything, except the desert, was created by the man and where is also held the educational forum which, because of its opulence, is comparable to that of Davos .

In one of the palm ends, lies the Atlantis Hotel, two huge towers connected by a bridge that overlooks the beach. Martin Salvetti was not out of the country for twenty years and had never been so far from his Temperley. He arrived last Monday with his wife and two children and goes through the most mobilizing hours: On Sunday, the winner of the Global Teacher Prize, organized annually by the Varkey Foundation, will be among the 10 nominees. Today, he is one of the ten best teachers in the world.

Always friendly, the teacher is overwhelmed by the sudden celebrity that he has acquired over the past month. "I have not badyzed it yet, but the world is turning me very fast", He recongnizes Infobae. "All Argentine teachers work as much or more than me and can be here next year." All I tell them is to dream and engage in what they do. The horizon is the boy: we must work for them "he adds.

Salvetti is the head of the automotive sector and responsible for the vocational training of adults at the Technical School No. 5 "April 2". They recognize it for two projects: to have created the first school radio -the only approved urban area in the country- and also to work with his students in making cars eliminate traction of blood in Lomas de Zamora. Both helped reduce school desertion.

"Education is the only tool to change, we are now faced with the challenge that technological advances exceed the adjustments we apply in the education system. Teachers need to generate new strategies so that children, whether they have access to technology or not, can acquire the necessary knowledge. "explains the professor, the first Argentine to be among the ten finalists.

This is the fifth edition of the award, which gives a million dollars to the winner. In the previous four, a woman has always been the winner: an American, a Palestinian, a Canadian and finally a Briton. Salvetti would be not only the first man, but also the first Latin American to reach the "Nobel of Education".

He is with his nine colleagues. They laugh, they exchange jokes, they pose for the photo, a little incredulous of so many flashes. Initially, there were 10,000 applications from 179 countries, and today there are only ten left. The selection criteria are varied: the teacher uses effective and reproducible teaching methods in other parts of the world, who respond to the challenges of the community and have achieved results. demonstrable in clbad. All, with very different realities, meet these criteria. There are appointed teachers who work in areas of extreme poverty, even others who are surrounded by armed conflict

The winner will be announced Sunday at noon (Argentine time), in the closing event. In each edition, there is a surprise. Last year, Lewis Hamilton, Formula 1 driver, entered the auditorium with the trophy after driving through the city by convertible car. When the winner was announced – Britain's Andria Zafirakou – Prime Minister Theresa May left a message to congratulate her. This year, it is suspected, this will not be the exception in terms of extravagances.

But before the main course, there will be an abundant entrance to Atlantis: Politicians, specialists and teachers will march down the corridors and host some of the many conferences, discussions and debates. Among the most elated are Matteo Renzi, former Italian Prime Minister Juan Manuel Santos, former Colombian president and Nobel Peace Prize winner and Harvard writer and psychologist Steven Pinker.

The dynamics of the forum breaks with the traditional pattern. The formats vary between the usual audience, a coffee shop, a legislative debate, a TED conference and exhibitions. In the middle, $ 25,000 will be awarded to three start-ups in the education sector. In total, there will be 150 sessions with 260 speakers between Saturday and Sunday. It's already announced: during the weekend, the palm tree will move.