Education forum held in Qatar

By Chung Hyun-chae

A global education forum, the “World Innovation Summit for Education (WISE),” began Tuesday and will run for three days in Doha, Qatar.

More than 15,000 education experts, government officials and businesspeople are taking part in the forum held under the theme of creative education, the organizer said.

Established in 2009, the WISE has played an active role as an international platform in which experts discuss the future of education.

His Excellency Sheikh Abdulla bin Ali Al-Thani, Ph.D., Chairman of WISE, said, “We must find new resources to confront the fast-evolving challenges to education systems around the world, and we can only succeed by drawing upon the wellspring of creativity that has fuelled progress throughout history.”

Participants discussed how to nurture creativity for students as well as how to measure creativity. They also debated the appropriateness of a standardized evaluation system.

On the first day of the event, the WISE Prize for Education was presented to Ann Cotton, founder and president of Camfed, the campaign for female education, for her outstanding contribution in education. The winner was given a prize of $500,000

“I accept this prize on behalf of the million girls whose poverty has so far robbed them of confidence, and who do not yet know what an amazing transformation awaits them,” Cotton was quoted as saying.