Medersat.com; Casablanca, Morocco *
PEAS (Promoting Equality in African Schools); London, United Kingdom
ALISON (Advance Learning Information Systems Online); Galway, Ireland
Pathways to Education; Toronto, Canada
Te Kotahitanga; Hamilton, New Zealand
iThra Youth Initiative; Eastern Province, Saudi Arabia
* Medersat received the special mention for “access to education”. This emphasis reflects the support of Qatar Foundation Chairperson Her Highness Sheikha Moza bint Nasser for United Nations Millennium Development Goal (MDG) 2 on achieving universal primary education.
A Jury composed of leaders from the education world, chaired by H.E. Sheikh Abdulla bin Ali Al-Thani, Ph.D., Chairman of WISE, selected the winning projects from a short list of 14 finalists. In total, WISE received more than 500 applications for these prestigious Awards.
Dr. Al-Thani remarked, “The WISE Awards Jury has identified six diverse projects from around the world that represent inspiring models for all who seek to overcome obstacles to education. For five years the WISE Awards have been building a community of education pioneers from across the educational spectrum, including non-governmental organizations, academia and both the public and private sectors, who are having a growing and sustainable impact. The 2013 WISE Awards winners will join their peers to inspire positive change in education.”
The six 2013 WISE Awards winning projects and the other finalists will participate in the fifth annual WISE Summit taking place October 29-31, 2013 at the Qatar National Convention Center in Doha under the theme “Reinventing Education for Life”.
About the WISE Awards:
Inaugurated in 2009, the WISE Awards identify, showcase and promote innovative educational projects from around the world. To date, over 2,000 applications have been received from 136 countries, resulting in 30 winning projects. The 30 successful initiatives have come from a variety of countries around the world, including Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ghana, India, Ireland, Morocco, Nigeria, Pakistan, Paraguay, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Turkey, the UK and the USA. These “real world” initiatives are progressively building a pool of sound practice which is having a local or global impact on education.
About the World Innovation Summit for Education (WISE):
Inaugurated in 2009 by Qatar Foundation on the initiative of its Chairperson, Her Highness Sheikha Moza bint Nasser, WISE is the only international initiative that stimulates innovation in education through collaboration and new approaches among diverse sectors – recognizing cutting-edge practices and helping to share them on a global scale. WISE is driven by the belief that education can be enhanced through innovation in three priority areas: Learning for All; Learning for Life; and Learning Anytime, Anywhere. WISE has developed a program of year-round activities to encourage international collaboration in education, including the WISE Prize for Education, the WISE Awards, WISE publications, and Learners' Voice. The annual international Summit is a unique occasion for thought-leaders, decision-makers and practitioners to come together and share concrete solutions to the challenges in education today.
To find out more about WISE initiative: www.wise-qatar.org
