Education in the 21st Century

WISE was organised in Doha, Qatar recently. The aim was to draw a 10-point agenda to create a vision for ‘21st century education’ that ensures education for all.

What essentially emerged at the conference was that though initiatives like ‘Education for All’ — an initiative run by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) — attempt at providing education to children, youth and adults, much remains to be done. In this context, Sheikha Mozah bint Nasser Al Missned, chair of Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development said, “Considering the challenges involved in achieving the goals of ‘Education for All,’ we need to act decisively and quickly.”

According to Gerhard Schröder, former chancellor of Germany, “We must make use of all available talents, skills and aptitudes.” Schröder added that any country that wants to be successful (economically or culturally), must utilise these resources. Further, Schröder said that there is only one way to ensure that governments continue to put emphasis on education and that is through public pressure.

As far as the education sector is concerned, sustainability, pluralism and innovation are the key words today. With this in mind, the WISE initiative had initiated a competition to attract applications from individuals and organisations across the world working in these areas. Sheetal Mehta from India was one of the winners for her project ‘Nanhi Kali.’ Launched by the K C Mahindra Education Trust (KCMET), its objective is to provide education to the underprivileged girl child in India.

WISE is an initiative taken by Qatar Foundation. Founded in 1995 as a non-profit organisation, it aims to promote education, scientific research and community development.