Qatar’s ambassador to Germany, Sheikh Saoud bin Abdulrahman al-Thani, hosted the WISE Prize for Education Jury for its final deliberations meeting at the Arab Culture House, Villa Cale, in Berlin recently.
The WISE Prize for Education Laureate will be publicly announced and introduced at the World Innovation Summit for Education (WISE) 2017, which is taking place in Doha from November 14-16.
The prize is the premier recognition of an individual or team for outstanding, life-long achievement in any field of education.
The laureate(s) will receive the specially-designed WISE Prize for Education gold medal, and an award of $500,000.
The WISE Prize for Education jury deliberations in Berlin come within the context of the 2017 Germany-Qatar Year of Culture, which has featured a wide range of exchange programmes focusing on arts, education, culture, and sports.
The goal of the initiative has been to strengthen ties between the two countries, providing opportunities for discussions on issues of concern to both countries.
Sheikh Saoud, the WISE Prize jury, members of the WISE team, and guests were also honoured at a high-level roundtable discussion on today’s global education challenges at the Bundestag, Germany’s federal parliament.
Jürgen Klimke, a member of the Bundestag representing Hamburg, hosted the gathering.
At the Bundestag, Klimke welcomed the guests and spoke briefly of his involvement in exchanges with the Mena region, particularly within the context of the 2017 Germany-Qatar Year of Culture.
Sheikh Saoud also addressed the roundtable, welcoming the WISE Prize jury and noting the strong ties between Qatar and Germany as indicated by the several high-level visits and meaningful exchanges over recent years.
Stavros N Yiannouka, the chief executive of WISE, a member of Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development, outlined the work of WISE, including the WISE Prize for Education and other initiatives.
The members of the 2017 WISE Prize for Education Jury are: Dr Jörg Dräger, member of the executive board of Bertelsmann Foundation (of Germany); Sheikha Hanadi bint Nasser bin Khaled al-Thani, founder and chairperson of Amwal (of Qatar); Dr Madhav Chavan, president of Pratham Education Foundation (of India); and Vicky Colbert, founder and director of Fundación Escuela Nueva (of Colombia).