Doha                                                                                                                                                                                                   16 Nov 2017

The eighth World Innovation Summit for Education (WISE) closed today with a global call to education leaders to prepare future generations for a changing world by placing knowledge at the centre of society. More than 2,000 participants from over 100 countries attended the biennial Summit, which has become a premier international education gathering since its establishment in 2009.

The theme of WISE 2017, ‘Co-Exist, Co-Create: Learning to Live and Work Together’, sparked debate around the crucial role that education must play in times of global disruption and economic uncertainty. Key speakers included journalist and commentator Fareed Zakaria, Dean Kishore Mahbubani of the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, entrepreneur Sebastian Thrun, and the celebrated Nigerian writer Chimamanda Adichie.

Sheikha Moza bint Nasser, Chairperson of Qatar Foundation, opened WISE 2017 with a passionate call for greater international effort to address a range of education challenges today. She presented the 2017 WISE Prize for Education to Dr. Patrick Awuah, founder of Ashesi University, in Ghana.

The Education Above All Foundation, established by Sheikha Moza bint Nasser in 2012, featured sessions on refugee issues, new learning models, and education leadership.

The WISE Majlis featured experiential learning sessions for nearly 700 12 to 14-year-old local students and their teachers. The Majlis also included an exhibition space for WISE research authors, opportunities to interact with Qatar-based education organizations, and many other activities. The two-day event featured diverse networking opportunities for delegates to interact and share experiences on their interests, projects, and education visions.

The WISE Summit, an initiative of Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development (QF), closed with a discussion entitled: From Knowledge Economies to Knowledge Societies.

Following six projects were honoured this year :

Sheikha Moza bint Nasser, Chairperson of Qatar Foundation, honored project representatives of the six WISE Awards winning projects during a special ceremony at the 2017 World Innovation Summit for Education on Wednesday 15 Nov 2017.

WISE previously named the six winning projects of the 2017 WISE Awards. The six winners were selected from a group of 15 finalists by a panel of expert judges from Parthenon-EY.
The 2017 WISE Awards winners:

42 (France/US) – a free computer programming training program open to anyone between the ages of 18 and 30, whether they possess an academic degree or not. The program focuses on project-based, peer-to-peer learning. The project representative is Olivier Crouzet.

Lights to Learn (Spain/Latin America) – a program led by the Organization of Ibero-American States for Education, Science and Culture (OEI) that provides electricity  to support quality education and community development in rural and marginalized regions of Latin America through the installation of photovoltaic systems, Internet, IT equipment, teacher training and community development. The project representative is Mr Paulo Speller.

PhET Interactive Simulations (US/global) - an engaging education solution promoting science and math literacy through interactive simulations, founded by Nobel Laureate Carl Wieman and housed at University of Colorado Boulder. The project representative is Dr Kathy Perkins.

The Learner Guide Program (Tanzania/UK) - a mentorship program led by Camfed Tanzania to support education and employment opportunities for young women in rural areas. The project representative is Ms Lydia Wilbard.

The Speed School project (US/global) – an intensive, child-centered program run by the Luminos Fund to enable out-of-school children to attain their grade level at government schools. The project representative is Ms Caitlin Baron.

Ubongo Edutainment (Tanzania) – a Dar-es-Salaam-based initiative providing  fun learning to millions of children in Africa through animated educational content across multiple platforms including television, SMS and smartphones. The project representative is Ms Nisha Ligon. 

Replays of plenary sessions at WISE 2017 will be available for viewing  http://www.wise-qatar.org/summit