Five prominent international figures will select the winner of the world’s first major international prize for education.
The WISE Prize for Education was announced by Her Highness Sheikha Moza bint Nasser, Chairperson of Qatar Foundation, at the conclusion of the second World Innovation Summit for Education in Doha, Qatar, in December 2010. The first Laureate will be named at WISE 2011 in November.
The Jury members are:
• Dr James H. Billington, Librarian of Congress, USA
• Prof. Jeffrey D. Sachs, Director of the Earth Institute, Columbia University, USA
• Mrs Fatma Rafiq Zakaria, Chairman of the Maulana Azad Educational Trust, India
• H.E. Naledi Pandor, Minister of Science and Technology, MP, South Africa
• H.E. Sheikh Abdulla bin Ali Al-Thani, PhD, Chairman of WISE, Qatar Foundation, Chairman of the
Jury
The WISE Prize for Education will reward an individual or team for an outstanding, world-class contribution to education. The Laureate’s achievements should have had a significant, lasting impact upon education at any level, and should demonstrate an inspiring and visionary approach.
The Prize will support the WISE mission of raising the status of education internationally by establishing an award of similar standing to those that already exist in other fields such as science, literature, peace and economics. The winner will receive $500,000 and a gold medal.
Nominations are invited until the end of April from individuals and institutions such as universities, schools, NGOs, teachers’ organisations, the media and private corporations.
From mid-July to mid-September 2011, the Jury will examine the candidacies of 15 finalists pre-selected by a committee responsible for screening all submissions.
Dr Abdulla bin Ali Al-Thani, Chairman of WISE, Qatar Foundation, explains: “As Chairman of the Jury, I am pleased to welcome this group of eminent people to form the WISE Prize for Education Jury. They have been selected because of their international vision, professional achievements and expertise. I believe their rich experience and diverse competencies will enable us to identify a Laureate of the highest calibre, and the WISE Prize for Education will become the world standard for achievement in this field.”
Qatar Foundation inaugurated the World Innovation Summit for Education - WISE - in 2009 to harness the knowledge, skills and experience of multiple stakeholders in addressing the challenges facing 21st-century education.
Find out more about the WISE Prize for Education: www.wiseprizeforeducation.org
Dr James H. Billington
Librarian of Congress, USA
James Hadley Billington has served as the Librarian of Congress since September, 1987. He was born in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, and educated in the public schools of the Philadelphia area and at Princeton University. He earned his doctorate from Oxford University, where he was a Rhodes Scholar. Following service with the U.S. Army, he taught history at Harvard University from 1957 to 1962 and subsequently at Princeton University where he was professor of history from 1964 to 1973. From 1973 to 1987, Dr. Billington was director of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars.
Prof. Jeffrey D. Sachs
Director of The Earth Institute, Quetelet Professor of Sustainable Development, Columbia University, USA
Jeffrey D. Sachs is the Director of The Earth Institute, Quetelet Professor of Sustainable Development, and Professor of Health Policy and Management at Columbia University. He is also Special Advisor to United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. He has been Director of the UN Millennium Project and Special Advisor to UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan on the Millennium Development Goals, and President and Co-Founder of Millennium Promise Alliance. He is widely considered to be the leading international economic advisor of his generation.
Mrs Fatma Rafi q Zakaria
Chairman of the Maulana Azad Educational Trust, India
Fatma Rafi q Zakaria is Chairman of the Maulana Azad Educational Trust in Aurangabad, India, which offers quality education and training to the less privileged, with a focus on empowering women and minorities. Her career has spanned diverse fi elds including journalism, social work, publishing and education. She is also President of the Maharashtra College of Arts, Science, and Commerce in Mumbai. Mrs Zakaria won the Sarojini Naidu Integration Award for Journalism in 1983 and, in 2006, the prestigious Padma Shri, awarded by the President of India, for her work in education.
H.E. Naledi Pandor, MP
Minister of Science and Technology, South Africa
Her Excellency Naledi Pandor is South Africa’s Minister of Science and Technology. She received a BA degree from the University of Botswana and Swaziland, an MA in Education from the University of London, and an MA in Linguistics from the University of Stellenbosch, South Africa. Mrs Pandor was elected to parliament in 1994 and served as deputy Chief Whip of the African National Congress (ANC) from 1995 to 1998. She was Chairperson of the National Council of Provinces from 1999 to 2004. Mrs Pandor became Minister of Education in 2004, and assumed her current position in 2009.
H.E. Sheikh Abdulla bin Ali Al-Thani, PhD
Chairman of WISE, Qatar Foundation
Chairman and member of the Jury
His Excellency Sheikh Abdulla bin Ali Al-Thani is Vice President, Education, at Qatar Foundation where he is leading an international consortium of elite universities. He is also Chairman of the World Innovation Summit for Education (WISE), the leading global forum for innovative practice in education. Named a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum, Dr Al-Thani is active in educational reform in the Arab world. He serves on the Executive Council of the World Digital Library at the Library of Congress in Washington, and on the Governing Board of the UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning in Hamburg
About the World Innovation Summit for Education (WISE)
WISE is dedicated to building the future of education through innovation. This global collaborative initiative was inaugurated in 2009 by the Qatar Foundation, under the patronage of Her Highness Sheikha Moza bint Nasser. Its mission is to address the challenges facing 21st century education, to expand dialogue around the world and to implement practical and sustainable solutions. With this purpose, WISE holds an annual international summit that provides a unique platform and meeting place for thought leaders and experts to share best practices about education. WISE is also a year-round initiative devoted to reaching outside the traditional circles of the education community to promote innovation and implement concrete actions. The WISE 2011 Summit will take place in Doha, Qatar, 1-3 November 2011. Full details on the WISE website:
www.wise-qatar.org