Doha: H H Sheikha Moza bint Nasser, Chairperson, Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development (QF), will be joined by US First Lady Michelle Obama at the seventh World Innovation Summit for Education (WISE) on November 4.
Sheikha Moza will speak on how education has come under attack regionally and globally and confirm her commitment to Sustainable Development Goal 4, which calls for inclusive lifelong education. She will also officially inaugurate the summit and announce 2015 WISE Prize for Education Laureate and following the keynote address at the opening plenary, Michelle will deliver her remarks.
The summit under the theme ‘Investing for Impact: Quality Education for Sustainable and Inclusive Growth’ aims to explore relationships among education, entrepreneurship, and economy, with participants addressing ways of strengthening education systems, developing ‘job-ready’ talent pools to counter persisting inequality, and supporting wider economic progress.
Established in 2009 by QF, WISE will bring together over 1,500 innovators, including educational thinkers and practitioners, representatives of governments, NGOs, business leaders, and social entrepreneurs. Designed to address challenges of education through innovation and collaboration, it is a testament to QF’s commitment to unlock human potential and establish a knowledge-based economy. WISE 2015 from November 3 to 5 will be the first global conference following the United Nations General Assembly and the ratification of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and will provide a platform for examining emerging innovations, scalable solutions, and emerging models of education financing. Education Above All (EAA), founded by Sheikha Moza, will host the second day plenary session on the impact of violence and conflict on education and effective responses. Confirmed speakers and participants include Leymah Gbowee, 2011 Nobel Peace Laureate and Founder and President, Gbowee Peace Foundation Africa; Julia Gillard, former Australian prime minister and Board Chair of Global Partnership for Education (GPE); Princess Mabel Van Oranje, Board Chair, Girls Not Brides; Dr Claudia Costin, Senior Director, Education Global Practice, the World Bank Group; and Khalid Alkhudair, Founder and CEO, Glowork.
Reflecting Qatar’s commitment to the global partnership for development, the summit will present three new features: The Learning Lab: In partnership with the Supreme Education Council, WISE will offer Qatar-based schoolchildren aged 12-14 years and their teachers opportunity to participate in Learning Lab — dedicated to innovative and interactive pedagogies. Located in the ‘Majlis’, the exhibition area at the centre of the event, the lab will comprise three workshops, with hands-on activities facilitated by partnering institutions, including Lego.
The WISE Research Reports: WISE has partnered with leading researchers from Qatar and around the world to produce reports to be revealed at the summit. They feature action-oriented policy research on key topics relevant to the theme of the summit. The reports are designed to bring key topics to the forefront of the global education debate, and reflect priorities of Qatar National Research Strategy.
The Qatar Zone: Also located in the ‘Majlis’, Qatar Zone has been conceived to encourage meetings and discussions among summit participants and key Qatari education institutions partnering with WISE. These include QF, SEC, Hamad Bin Khalifa University, Qatar University and Teach for Qatar, among others. A highlight of the summit will be the announcement of 2015 WISE Prize for Education Laureate at the opening session. In its fifth year, the prize will be presented to an individual or a team in recognition of an outstanding contribution in education. The summit will include a focus on education challenges of the Middle East and North Africa. It will feature a panel on closing the skills gap in the region, and a roundtable discussion on challenges and opportunities of education reform.
The Peninsula
