Elmarie Potgieter
RITE International Inc
Elmarie Potgieter
RITE International Inc
Embedded Files
RITE International Inc
As Managing Director of RITE Education Sdn Bhd and RITE International Inc, Elmarie Potgieter has led several international education transformation and capacity building projects in Malaysia, United Arab Emirates, South Africa, Tanzania, Kyrgyzstan, Lebanon and Indonesia. In March 2019 Elmarie was awarded “Distinguished Fellow” by Cambridge Global Learning UK as well as Malaysian Women Leader Award, and January 2018 the “Malaysian Women Icon” award for her work in education transformation. She is also recognised internationally as holder of the prestigious “Meaningful Business” group for promoting the UN SDGs. She is a well-known consultant with organisations such as PEMANDU, PADU, AIM and the Ministry of Education Malaysia and has a wide following on social media.
Elmarie is passionate about the promotion of emotional intelligence and thinking skills, especially in young children. She is the ideator and co-author of the RITE International Trademarked Programme, “ThinkWise: Little People Big Ideas”, a curriculum for the development of thinking skills. Her work in the development of thinking skills is widely recognised in the region and as a result she is a regular guest speaker and panellist in international and local education events and national radio broadcasts. As internationally accredited emotional intelligence coach, she is also regularly invited as guest lecturer on emotional intelligence, mindfulness and positive behaviour management. She is a passionate student of neuroscience and the impact that this growing field has on teaching and learning.
Elmarie also leads the design of the Genovasi Project which was commissioned by the Agensi Innovasi Malaysia and the Genovasi Foundation. Genosis is an innovative framework for embedding design thinking and enquiry-based learning in schools in Malaysia and the Asean Region. She also leads an international leadership capacity building programme across four countries. This programme called “EduLEAD” is rapidly gaining traction and was recently featured on Kyrgyzstan national television for the impact it has had on schools throughout the host country. As a result of the programme, schools in Tanzania, Lebanon and Indonesia have experienced a significant improvement in learner outcomes, teacher retention and parent satisfaction in the standards of teaching and learning.
Elmarie is the Immediate Past President of the Petaling Jaya Soroptimist International organisation, a member of the 2017 Science Outlook Committee and her spare time also a keen photographer, jewellery designer and performing artist. She holds a BA Hons and HED from the University of Pretoria, South Africa. She is a Six Seconds Accredited Emotional Intelligence coach, a Prince2 Practitioner and a Kagan Institute Scholarship Winner. Elmarie has attended numerous courses across the world in education leadership, change management, neuroscience in education and emotional intelligence by leaders in the field
Dr. Helen Maffini is the Director of MindBE Education, an educational training company working globally. We improve mindfulness and social emotional learning skills in preschools. More specifically we highlight the latest research, tools and strategies and work with thought leaders in the industry helping educators and parents develop these skills in themselves and children.
As a doctoral researcher in the field of mindfulness and co-author of the book Developing Children’s Emotional Intelligence, I have had the opportunity to interview and gain insights from some of the world’s top thought leaders in the field. Helen has a new publication coming out in Oct 2022 in collaboration with Barefoot Books.
Our summits have reached over 30000 educators worldwide and we have created ongoing partnerships and programmes with many prominent organizations. Guests have included Dr. Dan Siegel, Dr. Dan Goleman, Dr. Rick Hanson and many other thought leaders. Our annual Global Education Summit is co-hosted with Dr. Chris Willard from Harvard University,
Our specialised curriculum and courses have been accredited by the CPD standards office and we continue to reach children in more countries across the globe while also supporting NGOs in Cambodia in feeding and educating young people who live in poverty. We have many popular courses including the MindBE Teacher training program, Master training program, THRIVE parenting course, MindBE Homeschool course and many others.
Helen has worked on many large scale education reform projects in the Middle East in both Saudi Arabia and the UAE, in Malaysia and other countries. She helps schools and organizations to implement new projects and school improvement strategies
Helen is a frequent speaker at conferences around the world both in person and online from Malaysia to Dubai to the USA, she loves to share her passion for the early years.
Helen leads the MindBE business branch which helps social entrepreneurs in the field to improve their presence online and to build a business that helps others and gives back. Our coaching and summits in this area focus on mindset including overcoming self-sabotage and other ideas to help people move forward in business.
Page updated
Report abuse