Pillars Of Wisdom

In November 2014, WISE concluded the annual summit under the theme “Imagine—Create—Learn: Creativity at the Heart of Education” that focused on three points: nurturing creativity, creating an environment for learning and innovative teaching, and ways to measure as well as assess talents and skills. WISE 2014 also highlighted some key initiatives like the launch of the four-year education pilot project in the Kakuma Refugee Camp in Kenya and the ranking of the best universities in the region by US News and World Report. There was also the prestigious WISE Prize for Education Laureate which was awarded to Ann Cotton for her efforts to improve education opportunities for more than 3 million girls throughout Ghana, Zimbabwe, Malawi, and Tanzania.

Technology programs were also recognized within the WISE 2014 initiative where particularly innovative programs were recognized within the WISE Accelerator Program. These included innovative projects like “Sterio.me” which offers teachers the ability to pre-record interactive audio lessons for their pupils. These would be delivered via any mobile phone and requiring no internet. “Kytabu” was also recognized for its dynamic textbook subscription application on Android and Windows platforms which allow students to lease learning content in a piecemeal manner.

Through the founding principles of WISE, education continues to be a building block for countries all over the world. Qatar has taken the steps to put itself on the international stage and recognize top educational innovation and creativity. Leaders in education will continue to look to Qatar’s WISE Summit for inspiration in 2015.