WISE receives Spain’s 2012 Magisterio Prize

Sheikh Dr Abdulla bin Ali al-Thani, WISE chairman and vice president (education) at Qatar Foundation for Education Science and Community Development, accepted the prize from Letizia Ortiz, Princess of Asturias in Madrid on
November 29.

Established in 2009 by HH Sheikha Moza bint Nasser, chairperson of Qatar Foundation, WISE is a platform that brings together the world’s most creative thinkers and ideas from around the world to tackle the key issues facing the sector.

The Magisterio Prize honour follows on the heels of the successful WISE 2012 Summit, which concluded in mid-November and welcomed more than 1,200 innovators from more than 100 countries to Doha, Qatar to exchange, debate and network under the theme “Collaborating for change.”

Accepting the Magisterio Prize, Sheikh Dr Abdulla bin Ali al-Thani said: “From the very beginning we understood that education was an international issue, not just a national one. One of the priorities we addressed at the WISE Summit this year was education and employment - a topic which, we found, transcended the divide between developed and developing nations. It was challenges such as this that inspired us to create WISE and its year-long programmes that provide a multi-sectoral, global platform for creative thinking, debate and, most importantly, action. “To be acknowledged for this work is an honour and I am delighted to accept this recognition on behalf of all the people who have contributed to making this initiative a success over the past few years.”

The Magisterio Prize was created by Siena, a Spanish editorial group focusing on educational publications. Siena is the founder of Magisterio Español, Spain´s oldest educational newspaper and for which the Magisterio Prize is named.

WISE took the top prize for promoting best practices in education worldwide and for its efforts in urging collaboration amongst various sectors – from the public sector to social enterprise, from education to the media.

Last year, this prize, launched in 2009, was awarded to Andreas Schleicher, for his contribution as division head and co-ordinator of the OECD Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) and the OECD Indicators of Education Systems
Programme (INES).

Congratulating WISE, José Mª de Moya, general director of Siena, said: “Each year, we select the most inspiring people and initiatives in education and WISE is a clear winner for this year’s Magisterio Prize. More specifically, it is a clear winner for its efforts to encourage collaboration between countries and among sectors – from global businesses to local non-profits – in order to find solutions that respond to today’s challenges in
education. ”

WISE is an action-oriented initiative that encompasses a growing number of year-round programmes and culminates in an annual summit. At the WISE Summit in November, HH Sheikha Moza bint Nasser launched “Educate a Child”, a multi-partner initiative to bring high-quality education to millions of out-of-school children around the world.

The WISE Prize for Education was also presented to the 2012 Laureate: Dr Madhav Chavan, a former chemistry lecturer who devised a simple formula to bring education and literacy to millions at minimum cost and who is co-founder and CEO of Pratham, the largest non-governmental provider of basic literacy and numeracy for underprivileged children in India.