Improving education goes hand in hand with innovative new ideas.
That was the challenge for delegates attending the Qatar Foundation’s World Innovation Summit for Education, or WISE.
This year’s theme was “Collaborating for change”. The aim is to ensure access to quality education for all.
Sheikh Moza Bin Nasser, the foundation’s chairman, unveiled a new “Educate a child” initiative. It will give 61 million primary school children the chance to go to school.
UNESCO chief Irina Bokova said: “We have to make everything possible to get kids in school I think the new initiative “educate a child” is extremely important”.
Reaching out to forgotten children, living in poverty in the developing world, is the summit’s biggest concern.
Several awards and prizes are dedicated each year to promote life-transforming projects.
Developed countries also share their experiences, shining a light on the latest approaches to teaching young people and encouraging others to rethink education policies to solve pressing challenges like unemployment.
“Education and the workforce” was one of the hot debates, especially with the economic crisis that currently engulfs most of southern Europe.
Christine Evans-Klock of the International Labour Organization said stimulating job growth is a top priority.
“That’s not a luxury that comes later when the economy stabilises, it’s the way out of the recession. We also need to make sure that the investments in training are relevant to the job market and that everyone has access to good education and training not only the privileged parts of society,” she said.
But what sort of skills are needed in the economy of the 21st century? Delegates taking part in the “Real world learning” debate tried to find the answers.
Professional skills have an important role in those austere times.Young people can increase their chances of finding a job by boosting their skill set.
More than 80 speakers from all corners of the globe took part in a series of lively discussions. But on the sidelines of summit, stars from the art and music worlds also took a bow.had its role.
The soprano Barbara Hendricks took to the stage at the gala dinner, while Reza Deghati’ s exhibition on Doha’s seaside aimed to broaden visitors’ horizons of the Gulf State.