Doha, Qatar
04 March 2017 –

The World Innovation Summit for Education (WISE), the leading global initiative for innovation and collaboration in education, has announced the theme of its WISE 2017 global summit: ‘Co-Exist – Co-Create: Learning to Live and Work Together’. The summit will take place from November 14-16 in Doha.

The announcement was made during the closing session of WISE@Madrid, a one-day regional education forum organized in partnership with Banco Santander.

Since its establishment by Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development (QF) in 2009, WISE has been dedicated to enabling innovation in education around the world. The WISE 2017 theme reflects the organization’s commitment to addressing important education challenges particularly in times of disruption and economic uncertainty stemming from conflict, mass migration, growing inequality, and rapid technological change.

WISE 2017 will bring together a diverse cohort of education stakeholders in Doha to discuss ways to respond to the world’s most pressing problems, turn challenges into opportunities for positive change, and build the future of education. World leaders and education experts and thinkers will explore the impact of education on economies, health and well-being, citizenship, inclusion, the science of learning, and other key issues. More than 2,000 people attended the WISE 2016 Summit in Doha, with talks by global leaders including former U.S. First Lady Michelle Obama; former Prime Minister of Australia Julia Gillard; and Leymah Gbowee of Liberia, recipient of the 2011 Nobel Peace Prize, among others.

Additionally, WISE has organized education forums internationally featuring expert speakers across a wide range of fields and sectors to shed light on key regional and global trends in education. The first of these WISE@ gatherings took place in Tunis and Beijing last year, co-organized with local partners. The WISE@Madrid forum, the first initiative of the series in Europe, was dedicated to reflecting and imagining the future of education, notably addressing the high youth unemployment issue, among other subjects.