Sunlands Primary School’s principal has been elected president of the International Confederation of Principals (ICP).
The announcement was made by the Western Cape Education Department on Friday.
The ICP elected Sunlands’ Alta van Heerden at its convention held at the Cape Town International Convention Centre from 22 to 25 September.
The ICP has about 50 000 members at schools in 20 countries around the world.
The confederation represents individual members, groups and national associations of school principals and aspiring principals.
The organisation is dedicated to the development, support and promotion of school leadership globally. The ICP’s slogan is “Think global, act local”.
“We congratulate Van Heerden on her election, and note her contribution to education leadership locally and internationally with great pride,” says provincial education minister Debbie Schäfer.
“Her election reflects the calibre of education leadership we have in the Western Cape and South Africa as a whole. We look forward to learning from Van Heerden and the ICP on best international practice, and to sharing our experiences. We wish her every success as she takes up her post as president-elect of the organisation.”
Van Heerden has served in education for 35 years and has led professional associations for the past 10 years.
She has held the positions of general secretary and president of the South African Principals’ Association (Sapa) and president of Sapa in the Western Cape.
She has been a member of the ICP council since 2010 and represented Africa on the ICP executive for the past four years.
She will assume her position as president-elect in January next year and as president of the ICP in 2019.
Van Heerden says one of her most memorable moments of the convention was the announcement of her election.
“It was an amazing but humbling experience as South Africans and Africans responded to the announcement by breaking into spontaneous singing, ululating, etc. I believe that it wasn’t just about me, but about South Africa and Africa.”
