WISE officials along with WISE Awards finalists. Pictures: Amr Diab / The Peninsula
Doha, Qatar: The 12th edition of the World Innovation Summit for Education (WISE) will open tomorrow (Monday), highlighting the role of human values in shaping the future of learning, even as education systems embrace rapid advances in technology and AI.
Held under the theme “Humanity.io: Human Values at the Heart of Education” over two days the summit will bring together thousands of global educators, innovators and policymakers to reflect on how education can best serve humanity in a fast-evolving world. Speaking to The Peninsula during a media day ahead of the summit, Director of Programs at WISE, Aurelio Amaral said the theme reflects a conscious effort to place people, not tools at the centre of innovation.
Director of Programs at WISE, Aurelio Amaral
“This summit, we are focusing on putting human values at the heart of education,” he said. “The ‘.io’ serves as a symbolic bridge between technology and humanity, reminding us that innovation in education must remain deeply human-centred.”
He added that the goal is to highlight how “education is both the input and the output of human beings and vice versa.” Amaral, who co-leads the curation of WISE 12, said the summit will draw “thousands of people from different parts of the world including educators, policy makers, decision makers, enthusiasts, lifelong learners to discuss these topics.” Reflecting on WISE’s evolution, he noted that the summit has grown from a conference into a global platform supporting long-standing initiatives.
Referring to WISE Awards and WISE Prize initiatives, he said, “We have supported almost 200 individuals and organisations in education and many of them have scaled over the years, expanding into different countries,” he said.
He highlighted Educate Girls as one of WISE’s standout success stories. The Indian NGO, which partners with communities to improve girls’ education, and its founder, Safeena Husain, were recognised with a WISE Award in 2014 for their positive impact.
Their continued progress ultimately led Educate Girls to receive the 2023 WISE Prize for Education.
This year, WISE introduces a new format for its flagship prize. The newly-merged WISE Prize and WISE Awards will now celebrate six finalists, with up to three sharing $1m to further develop and implement their solutions.
The six finalists have spent the past year developing new solutions, with the prize now reflecting both legacy and forward-looking innovation.
Director of Advocacy at WISE, Shahïn Ammane described WISE 12 as “the end of a cycle and the beginning of a new one,” marking two years of research, programs and global engagement.
Director of Advocacy at WISE, Shahïn Ammane
“WISE 12 is a kind of springboard,” he said. “What has been carried on during the two past years is displayed during the summit. We show why humans should be at the centre and the core of education.” He emphasised the need to consider “learners, teachers and the whole ecosystem” when integrating technology.
Ammane highlighted WISE’s role as a global convenor. “WISE 12 is a kind of bridge between East and West, between North and South,” he said. “We need more than one person to think about education. As we say, we need a village.”
The Education Above All (EAA) Foundation will also play a major role, leading seven high-level sessions during the summit. Chief Economic Empowerment Officer at EAA Foundation, Mana Al-Ansari, said EAA’s participation aligns closely with the summit’s values. “Education Above All believes that education and human education is the cornerstone of social development and youth empowerment,” he said. EAA’s booth will showcase the journey of beneficiaries “from learning to employability and earning.”
Chief Economic Empowerment Officer at EAA Foundation, Mana Al-Ansari
EAA’s sessions will cover a wide spectrum from primary education and learning in conflict zones to sustainability, climate resilience, worker protection and the use of AI. Al-Ansari said the summit’s power lies in its diversity. “It brings together all the players from policymakers to advocates to youth. By the end, we hope to come up with concrete solutions to life-saving challenges that will reflect on our future projects.”
