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H.E. Sheikh Abdulla bin Ali Al-Thani, Ph.D., Chairman of WISE, Qatar Foundation
What should we expect from the 2012 WISE Summit “Collaborating for Change”?
Dr. Al-Thani: This year's Summit will examine the major challenges facing education and societies around the world today. These issues have implications for what we teach, and how we teach it, to learners of all ages. I believe that new kinds of education are needed to meet today’s demands in a complex and rapidly changing world. The education sector has been slow to adapt and this year’s Summit will tackle the problem from a number of angles.
Participants in WISE 2012 will learn about the barriers to change and how they might be overcome. One of these barriers is that people in education often do not have the opportunity to collaborate with their peers or with people from other sectors. Discussions will deal with how to overcome this, and with what happens when we question conventional models.
This year’s Summit will look at how collaboration at various levels can inspire innovation in education. Sessions will highlight best practices in order to inspire innovators in education around the world. There will be a particular focus on creative solutions to increasing access to education, on financing learning, and on teaching methods. WISE 2012 will help people from multiple sectors re-design education together to meet the needs of today and the future.
In four years WISE has established a reputation as the premier forum for innovation in education, and I think we will see it being used more and more as a launch pad for new ideas and initiatives because of the attention it draws and the expectations it creates.
How does WISE promote collaboration?
Dr. Al-Thani: WISE has a growing number of programs that are a platform for working and taking action together.
Let me give you a few examples. First, I would like to highlight the WISE Awards that recognize innovative education projects that have had a transformative impact on societies. These projects are an inspiring and diverse collection of best practices that are shared throughout the WISE community.
Another example is the WISE Haiti Task Force that is helping rebuild that country’s education system following the devastating earthquake of 2010. The program supports successful local education initiatives through collaboration with its partner, FOKAL (Foundation for Knowledge and Liberty), empowering Haitian people to reconstruct their country. In 2012 the WISE Haiti Task Force granted funding to seven innovative initiatives to enable them to expand.
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The WISE Learners’ Voice program has gone from strength to strength. It was initiated because we felt we couldn’t hold a full debate about education without the input of those who are its consumers. Over the past year, the Learners have participated in other education-related events around the world and have visited WISE Awards winning projects in order to report to WISE 2012 on how to increase access to education through innovation. I am confident that their presentations will be a valuable contribution to building the future of education. I also believe their participation in WISE 2012 as speakers and delegates will once again be one of the most popular features of the program, and I look forward to meeting the next group of outstanding young Learners who will also be present.
WISE Community, the new social networking feature of the WISE website, allows members to share their knowledge and experience. This web platform is both a source of information about the WISE initiative and an interactive education resource base of ideas and successful practices that may be adopted, adapted and replicated.
This year’s Summit promises to be more interactive than ever, offering opportunities to participate from anywhere in the world. A range of tools will enable e-participants to put questions to speakers before and after sessions, watch sessions via live broadcasts, and connect with key personalities. There will also be collaborative workshops on specific issues.
What are the evolving trends in education today?
Dr. Al-Thani: I believe there are three major trends in education today. The first is the increasing use of technology. PSU Educarchile, a 2012 WISE Awards winning project, is a free online college preparation program in Chile, and RoboBraille, another 2012 WISE Award winner, uses technology to convert education texts into Braille and other formats such as mp3 or audio books for people with impaired vision and reading difficulties.
The second trend is innovative financing of education. This year one of the WISE Awards is for a project that, in addition to “Transforming Education”, has best provided innovative financing of primary education. The winning project comes from Bangladesh, where solar-powered floating schools ensure year-round primary education to students in flood-prone areas, even during the height of the monsoon period.
Increasing access to education is the third trend, and the following 2012 WISE Awards winning projects demonstrate achievements in this: The Satya Bharti School Program that provides high-quality education for underprivileged children in rural India, and the Cambodian Children’s Fund – Generational Change through Education - that provides education and care for children and families in a deprived district near Phnom Penh.
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