Education forum to focus on education challenges

Ways on how education can be more effective in addressing social, economic, political and sustainable development challenges in an ever-changing world will be the focus of the World Innovation Summit for Education (WISE) in Doha. The three-day forum to open on Tuesday under the theme of "Changing Societies, Changing Education" is an international initiative and platform for established and new educational actors to collaborate proactively all year round. Officials said that WISE has been since its inception an action-oriented platform that encourages people to turn ideas into action. "It was some three years ago that Shaikha Moza bint Nasser asked us to launch an initiative that would focus the efforts of decision-makers and pioneers on one of the most important issues of our time - education," Shaikh Abdullah Bin Ali Al Thani, President of the Hamad bin Khalifa University, and Chairman of WISE, said. "And now, as we approach our third annual Summit, I am pleased to say that we are known as a unique forum which is achieving real results on the ground in many parts of the world. We have participants from all continents, and from many sectors - politics, business, voluntary organizations, the media, as well as academia and education itself," he said, quoted by Qatari daily The Peninsula on Sunday. Within the three days of this year's summit, 60 sessions will be held with 150 speakers while more than 1,000 delegates will attend. Speakers include academics, policy makers, private sector representatives, NGOs and associations, and the arts community from over 40 countries. ‘What models of innovation across sectors can inspire education today?' will be discussed on the first day and ‘How can we identify, share and adapt the most innovative educational projects and policies?' will take centre stage on the second day of the summit. Experts will discuss ‘what will learning be like in the future?' on the third and final day of the summit. WISE, an initiative of Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development, was launched in 2009 and is now gathering a community of 9,000 innovators and doers in education from over 120 countries.