The six winning projects from Canada, Lebanon, Brazil, France, India, and the USA were selected from a pool of 15 finalists for their creative approach to crucial education challenges and demonstrating positive impact on society.
WISE, a global initiative of Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development, has been honouring some of the most innovative and effective practices in tackling urgent global education challenges since 2009.
The winning projects this year are: Tara Akshar Literacy Programme (India), Education for Growth and Value Creation (Lebanon), JUMP Math (Canada), Geekie – Personalised Learning for All (Brazil), Ideas Box (France) and Little Ripples (USA) .
Mindfulness programme in Little Ripples project
The recipients of the WISE Awards join a network of other successful and pioneering projects, gain global visibility and are given an opportunity to collaborate through various platforms. Projects also receive $20,000 and are celebrated at the WISE Summit and other WISE events.
Independent education consultants from Parthenon-EY assess the applicants and a jury comprising international education experts evaluates 15 shortlisted projects that aim to build a network of change-makers and inspire others around the world.
An activity of mobile learning from Ideas Box project
Dr Abdulaziz al-Horr, CEO of Qatar Finance and Business Academy, one of the 10 education authorities who form the WISE Awards Jury said: "The 2016 WISE Awards embody the notion of 'education as empowerment.’Each of the winning projects can be seen as a tool to overcome some of the world’s biggest education challenges. They are reaching out to refugees, supporting struggling students, and are changing lives through vocational training."
Parthenon-EY managing director Ashwin Assomull commented: “This is the fourth year, Parthenon-EY has worked with WISE and it is always a fascinating project. Our team conducts the on-the-ground due diligence assessment of finalists based on WISE’s metrics of impact, innovation, and capacity for growth.”
Women get trained at Education for Growth and Value Creation project.
Stavros N. Yiannouka, CEO, WISE, said: “ These projects reflect the values of WISE in supporting a range of education priorities, and meeting important needs in diverse communities. We are confident that they are strong models that will inspire others to help build a more secure and prosperous future for individuals and societies everywhere through education.”
Tara Akshar Literacy is a 56-day computerised adult literacy programme that teaches women to read, write, and do basic arithmetic using the Laubach method and has produced approximately 190,000 successful graduates to date.
Education for Growth and Value Creation provides vocational education and training in tourism for women in rural Lebanon and has reached more than 12,000 women.
JUMP Math uses an innovative ‘guided discovery’ approach to mathematics teaching at the primary school level. Approximately 170,000 students used it in 2015-2016 academic year.
Geekie is an adaptive e-learning platform that creates customised study plans for students. Nearly 5 million students across 4,800 schools in Brazil have used at least one of Geekie’s products.
Ideas Box, a 2014 WISE accelerator project, is a mobile education unit that provides education infrastructure and resources for displaced and vulnerable populations. Each box can be disassembled into modules, creating spaces that serve 50-70 students.
Little Ripples provides community-based early childhood education for 3 to 5 year old children in refugee camps in Chad. It is considered innovative in its provision of early childhood education, rarely implemented in refugee camps.
Recent graduates of Tara Akshar Literacy programme showing certificates
Six innovative projects in education from around the world have been selected for the 2016 WISE Awards, a leading international initiative by World Innovation Summit for Education (WISE).
