WISE announces new Learners’ Voice batch

The World Innovation Summit for Education (WISE), an initiative of Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development, has announced a new cohort of outstanding young people to participate in the 2017-2018 Learners’ Voice programme. As many as 25 young education advocates from 22 countries, with diverse backgrounds and disciplines, have been selected to join the international Learners’ Voice community. The new cohort will engage in dialogue on pressing education issues including practical, action-oriented approaches to the crisis of global forced migration and displacement.  The WISE Learners’ Voice programme brings the voice of young people to the challenge of rethinking education, and equips them to take on leading roles in their fields and in the world of education. The programme focuses on building their knowledge of education, as well as their communication, entrepreneurship, and leadership skills. Stavros N Yiannouka, CEO, WISE, remarked: “At WISE, we are very excited to introduce the new cohort of the Learners’ Voice Programme for 2017-2018.  The WISE team has worked hard to bring together this unique group of young people with diverse backgrounds and experiences, who share a commitment to education for individual empowerment and social change.”“Many of them have already faced life-changing experiences and challenges, whether as refugees themselves, or as teachers and advocates in diverse and difficult situations around the globe. I am confident that they and their peers will bring to the WISE community a new and vital energy towards building the future of education,” added Yiannouka.In addition to their participation at the 2017 WISE Summit in Doha this November, the newest Learners’ Voice cohort will join two intensive residential sessions delivered by expert faculty members, as well as a variety of online and on-site activities. In a key component of the programme, in January 2018, the learners will form teams to conceive and design innovative projects that address critical education challenges. After thorough evaluation by the Learners’ Voice team, selected projects will have an opportunity to pitch their proposals to an audience of potential investors, donors, and partners next year.