Founders and Partners
Founders
The CDSC was founded in 1994 by the Marburger Mission Foundation, in cooperation with the German Embassy in Bangkok.
The Marburger Mission is well-connected in Germany; it belongs to the “Deutscher Gemeinschafts und Diakonierverband” (DGD) (a social services association), the “Evangelischer Gnadenauer Gemeinschaftsverband” (a denominational association) and is also a member of the “Diakonies Werk” (a welfare association) of the Protestant church in Kurhessen-Waldeck.
The Marburger Mission was invited by the Church of Christ Thailand (CCT) to partner in tasks including church planting, theological education and training of pastors, staff training and social service in Thailand. The CCT, founded in 1934 as an association of Protestant churches, oversees not only a variety of ecclesiastic activities but also eight hospitals, 25 Christian Thai schools, two international schools (CDSC and CMIS in Chiang Mai), two universities and six institutions for theological education.
Under Thai law, the CDSC is incorporated as part of the CCT; the CCT is therefore held organizationally responsible for the school in the eyes of the Thai government. To fulfill the framework conditions of German schools abroad, the CCT and Marburger Mission are both represented on the school board. The school board consists of appointed Marburger Mission members and other elected members (both usually parents of students), as well as one representative from the Parents’ Council and one representative from the teaching staff.
German Partners
The Central Agency for German Schools Abroad (ZfA) promotes 140 German schools abroad on behalf of the German Foreign Office and 870 domestic schools which offer the German Language Certificate of the Education Ministers Conference. The ZfA provides financial and staffing assistance for schools abroad and also provides education quality assurance in cooperation with the German federal states. The ZfA recognizes and supports the important goals of the Education Ministers Conference in schools across 95 countries.
Ministers responsible for education and schooling, universities and research and cultural affairs work together in the Standing Conference of the Ministers of Education and Cultural Affairs of the Länder in the Federal Republic of Germany. Federal states assume self-coordinating responsibility for the country as a whole. In matters of transnational relevance, the Standing Conference works to ensure the necessary degree of common ground in education, science and culture. The Standing Conference recognizes the challenges of the international education market; in 2005, it issued the Regulations for the German International Abitur Examination (DIA) for German schools abroad.
As an officially recognized German school abroad and mediator of the German culture—in terms of the Cultural Relations and Education Policy—the CDSC cooperates closely with the German Embassy in Bangkok. The German Embassy’s cultural department supports and counsels German schools abroad. CDSC has benefited from generous support from the Foreign Office for several construction projects as well. Furthermore, CDSC stands in close contact with the German Honorary Consulate in Chiang Mai.
The WDA, founded in 2003, supports German schools abroad in fulfilling their tasks and promotes projects that serve common goals. Thus, independent organizations supporting various schools are given a unified voice. The WDA represents the interests of German schools abroad in the German Bundestag and is an important contact for shaping Cultural Relations and Education Policy, actively taking part in its development. As an officially recognized German school abroad, CDSC is a member of the WDA.
In February 2008, the German Foreign Office inaugurated the PASCH (“Schools: Partners for the Future”) initiative. This initiative strengthens a worldwide network of about 1,500 partner schools connected to Germany in a special way. The hope is that through this connection, young people will develop an enthusiastic and sustainable interest in the modern country of Germany, its society and language. The Central Agency for Schools Abroad, the Goethe-Institute, the German Academic Exchange Service and the Pedagogical Exchange Service are all agencies that operate in support of the PASCH initiative. All 140 ZfA-promoted German schools abroad and all 870 ZfA-promoted domestic language certificate schools belong to the PASCH network.
Partners in Thailand
The OPEC (Office of the Private Education Commission) in Thailand has been installed and administrated according to the “Private School Act” by the Thai Ministry of Education. Among others, tasks of the OPEC include quality assurance and the funding and subsidizing of private education. In the framework of “Sor Chor,” OPEC accredits the standard of private schools. As an international school with a private supporting organization, CDSC is examined on a regular basis by OPEC as well.
In accordance with the Thai education law, the ONESQA (Office for National Education Standards and Quality Assessment) was installed in 2000. The ONESQA conducts the “Sor Mor Sor”—an inspection which is mandatory for all schools in Thailand—on a regular basis. Thus, CDSC is inspected and accredited regularly by Thai authorities.
ISAT, founded in 1994, is an association of international schools in Thailand. One of the main tasks of the ISAT is to establish and maintain a connection between its member schools and the Thai Education Ministry. Principals of member schools in Chiang Mai, including CDSC, meet once a month.
The Chiang Mai Circle of International School Heads is an association of the seven international schools in Chiang Mai, including the CDSC. The goal of this association is to encourage diversity in educational experience and to facilitate greater opportunities for student learning experiences through jointly organized events (e.g., sports events). Principals of participating schools meet once a month.
The ISCC (International Schools Circle of Chiang Mai) is another association of the international schools in Chiang Mai, including the CDSC and two international schools in Chiang Rai. In order to promote their cooperation, the Thai administrations of the participating schools meet once a month.
More Partners
The Thai German Church (TDG) in Chiang Mai is a Protestant church in which people of all denominations are welcome. In addition to the Sunday service, the Thai German Church runs a youth group, a young children group and various house groups during the week. Most of the CDSC volunteers spend 20% of their time working at the Thai German Church.
OMF (Overseas Missionary Fellowship) serves Asians holistically on the basis of the biblical image of humankind and works closely with the local Thai community. OMF Germany is part of OMF International, founded in 1865 by Hudson Taylor as CIM. Today, OMF International has about 1,400 members all around the world, concentrated particularly among the two billion people of East and South-East Asia. One of our teachers at CDSC came to us through OMF.