12 finalists picked for 2021 WISE Awards
The 12 finalists for the 2021 WISE Awards have been announced, with the projects – hailing from nine countries – striving to tackle pressing global educational challenges.
This year’s finalists are: Pehchan Project by CULP – Centre for Unfolding Learning Potentials (India); Women Entrepreneurship and Skilling by AISECT (India); The Happiness Curriculum by Dream a Dream (India); Creating Social Emotional Learning (SEL) Programmes for Children in Indian Public Schools by Labhya Foundation (India); Kinedu (Mexico); Onebillion by Onebillion children (UK); Trauma Informed Schools by Maya Vakfi Foundation (Turkey); Let’s All Learn to Read by Fundacion Luker (Colombia); Kiwix (Switzerland); Taleemabad by Orenda Project (Pakistan); ProFuturo (Spain); Civic Leadership for Education equity by Anseye Pou Ayiti (Haiti).
The submissions were evaluated on strict criteria, based on innovation, scalability, sustainability, and their impact on individuals, communities, and societies in their own contexts or globally. Projects also need to be financially stable, have a clear development plan, and be scalable and replicable.
The past year has proven that it is important to innovate in education: many girls are out of school and women insufficiently empowered; millions of elementary students have poor literacy and numeracy skills; refugees struggle to access education; vulnerable communities don’t have access to the necessary social emotional learning to thrive while the digital divide remains a learning barrier.
The 2021 WISE Awards finalists have developed unique solutions to tackle these challenges and make sure that every child reaches their full potential.
Stavros N Yiannouka, CEO of WISE, an initiative of Qatar Foundation, said, “As we continue to navigate the long term and short term effects of the global pandemic on education, the need for innovation is all the more urgent because of the systemic shortcomings that the crisis has exacerbated around the globe.
“In this context, the work celebrated by the WISE Awards is critically important. Each of the 2021 finalists has built an effective, tested solution to a global educational challenge. Whether ensuring parental access to fundamental early childhood education, imparting social-emotional learning skills to children across school districts, or opening access to free knowledge and materials for offline learning, each project is already transforming lives and provides an inspirational model for others to emulate.”
The winners of the WISE Awards will be announced in September 2021 and celebrated at the WISE Summit, taking place from December 8-9. In addition to visibility and networking opportunities, each project will receive $20,000.