The 2021 WISE Summit hosted thousands of education stakeholders and innovators from around the globe for a discussion of the current state and the future of education. Featured sessions included the importance of STEM for the next generation (Gitanjali Rao), the role of philanthropy (Naza Alakija) and girl empowerment through media (Jessica Posner Odede).
The 3-day WISE summit has been held every 2 years since 2009 as part of an effort to revitalize education and provide a global platform for the development of new ideas and solutions. Under the theme: “Generation Unmute: Reclaiming Our Future Through Education,” sessions were built around five thematic tracks:
- Leading for the Future: Transforming Education to Thrive in a World of Uncertainty
- Mute/Unmute: Edtech and the Promise of Personalized Learning
- Learning to Be Well: Putting Social and Emotional Learning at the Heart of Education
- Learning for Life: Bridging the Education to Employment Gap through Equity and Inclusion
- From Globalization to Glocalization: Leveraging the Creative Potential of Local Learning Ecosystems
This year’s 2021 WISE Prize for Education Laureate Wendy Kopp was recognized by WISE for her contribution to quality education through creating Teach For All, a diverse global network building collective leadership in classrooms and communities and sharing solutions across borders to ensure all children can fulfil their promise.
Additionally, each year, the WISE Awards recognize and promote six successful and innovative projects that are addressing global educational challenges. These projects represent a growing resource of expertise and sound educational practice, such as:
The Delhi Government’s Happiness Curriculum, India
Dream and Dream partnered with the Delhi government to include social emotional learning in the school curricula. The Happiness Curriculum aims to address the well-being and happiness of students with a strong emphasis on mindfulness, self-awareness, critical thinking, reflection & other social-emotional skills.
Let’s All Learn to Read, Colombia
The Luker Foundation is a comprehensive and innovative model for learning literacy for elementary school students. Using face-to-face and digital strategies such as:
onebillion, United Kingdom
onebillion children delivers a comprehensive numeracy and literacy software, known as onecourse, to adapt to the level of any child, providing personalized learning sessions with no need for login.
ProFuturo Digital Education Program, Spain
The Telefonica Foundation and “la Caixa” Foundation focuses on teacher training and support, to help them strengthen their teaching practice, their capacity to manage the classroom, and their digital skills so they can integrate technology in the classroom and offer the best education to their students.
Taleemabad, Pakistan
The Orenda Project offers a highly localized and contextualized animated series aligned with the National Curriculum of Pakistan that teaches children English, Urdu, Maths and Science across the K-6 spectrum.
Trauma Informed Schools, Turkey
The Maya Vaikh Foundation aims to promote trauma-informed education within Turkish public schools and transform these schools into a safe space for children suffering from traumatic experiences. The intervention applies a multi-pronged approach targeting the children and the entire community surrounding them, including their caregivers, teachers, school administrators and school counsellors.
Related links:
Everyone speaks the language of football, Street Child United CEO says at 2021 WISE Summit, The Peninsula
2021 WISE Prize for Education is presented to Wendy Kopp, CEO of Teach For All, Yahoo Finance
‘Generation Unmute’: WISE education summit convenes in Doha, Aljazeera
WISE calls for innovative solutions for education, The Peninsula
‘Education needs to be changed in design and delivery’, Gulf Times
Academic experts discuss future of education in post-Covid-19 scenario, Gulf Times
International Education News 