The World Innovation Summit for Education (WISE), a global initiative of Qatar Foundation, honoured a jury of internationally distinguished individuals, including former Australian premier Julia Gillard, who had been tasked with selecting the 2015 WISE Prize for Education Laureate. The Laureate will be announced at the WISE Summit in Doha, in November.
The gathering at the Four Seasons Hotel, on Tuesday evening, presented a special opportunity for local educators and dignitaries to exchange views on key challenges facing education with members of the WISE Prize for Education Jury.
First awarded in 2011, the WISE Prize for Education was established by HH Sheikha Moza bint Nasser, chairperson of Qatar Foundation, to recognise an individual or a team for outstanding achievement in any field of education. Among the most prominent awards of its kind, the WISE Prize for Education raises global awareness of the crucial role of education in all societies.
Other than Julia Gillard, the jury members include Dr Madhav Chavan, president of Pratham Education Foundation, India; Dr Michèle Pierre-Louis, former prime minister of Haiti; Prof Tan Oon Seng, director of National Institute of Education, Singapore; and Androulla Vassiliou, former European Commissioner for Education, Culture, Multilingualism and Youth, Cyprus.
A number of local educators and dignitaries were in attendance, including Stavros N Yiannouka, CEO, WISE. “It is a great honour to have such eminent thought leaders committing their time and expertise to help us identify, recognise, and promote today’s education pioneers, and to join us in the dialogue around education. Their valuable insights are important in helping us build the future of education, inspire educators here in Qatar and worldwide, and to meet the challenges ahead,” said Yiannouka.
Among others attending the event were Marcio Barbosa, CEO, Education Above All Foundation, Qatar Foundation; and Dr Hissa Sadiq, dean of the College of Education, Qatar University. Several deans from Hamad Bin Khalifa University and Qatar Foundation’s partner universities also attended, as well as members of the WISE Team.
WISE officials with the WISE Prize for Education jury members.
