The World Innovation Summit for Education (WISE) took place in Qatar from November 19 to 21, 2019. EMA, as a privileged partner of WISE in Germany, had invited to the event. Under the motto “Education meets Business” EMA Secretary General Clara Gruitrooy led interested German companies to Doha.

More than 2,000 decision makers from the private and public education sector from more than 100 countries discussed under the motto “UnLearn, ReLearn: What it means to be Human”, what constitutes good education, training and lifelong learning in a world of rapid social change and ongoing technological progress. With regard to a global policy of hesitant steps, the rise of artificial intelligence and an economization of education, France’s former Minister for Women and Education, Najat Vallaud-Belkacem, lamented: “Our schools are in offline mode. Stavros Yiannouka, CEO of WISE, countered this with the motto: “We have to unlearn what we think we know.

In the run-up to the WISE Summit 2017, the EMA had welcomed the jury in Berlin and created a framework for the selection of the WISE Award winners. With Dr. Asmaa Alfadala, Director of Research and Content Development, EMA has a long-standing partner at WISE, who was also a speaker at the 4th German-Arab Women’s Forum.

At the WISE Summit in the anniversary year 2019, the WISE Awards – the Nobel Prizes for Education – were again presented to outstanding educational institutions. I.H. Sheikha Moza bint Nasser, founder of the Qatar Foundation, awarded the prizes to projects in the fields of empowerment for women and protection of children’s rights, among others. Each year, the WISE Awards recognize six successful innovative projects that address global challenges in the field of education. Applications can currently be submitted until January 20, 2020.