WISE 2021

On December 7-9, 2021, thousands of education stakeholders and innovators from around the globe convened in person and online for one of the largest and most influential gatherings to shape the future of education. Under the theme “Generation Unmute: Reclaiming Our Future Through Education”, WISE 2021 took place virtually and in-person in Doha, Qatar.

The event was built around five thematic tracks:

1. Leading for the Future – Transforming Education to Thrive in a World of Uncertainty
2. Mute/Unmute – EdTech and the Promise of Personalized Learning
3. Learning to Be Well – Putting Social and Emotional Learning at the Heart of Education
4. Learning for Life – Bridging the Education to Employment Gap through Equity and Inclusion
5. From Globalization to Glocalization – Leveraging the Creative Potential of Local Learning Ecosystems

Key Takeaways

Naturally, the effects the COVID-19 pandemic has had on education systems worldwide was a key topic at WISE 2021. While many of those were negative (increase in loneliness and depression, economic implications, etc.), some have also sparked positive change and innovation. For many of the following key take-aways, the pandemic acted as a catalyst to raise awareness about the already pressing need for change.

Putting Students First

Social and emotional learning (SEL) and student-centered teaching are gaining more and more traction, for example:

• 5Cs curriculum in Sierra Leone (computational thinking, comprehension, creativity, critical thinking, civics)
• Giving Voice to Values course, Ashesi University Ghana
• What works for those with the biggest obstacles, works for everyone: More and more education systems begin to acknowledge the challenges the most vulnerable in their communities face (pregnant girls, children with disabilities, children in remote areas, etc.) and begin to adjust their systems (e.g. ‘radical inclusion’ in Sierra Leone

Building Schools for the Future

• A reoccurring theme at the summit was the need for better-connected schools. For example, school networks could help education leader, schools, and teachers exchange best practices and learn from one another.
• Schools should also acknowledge their role as ‘social places’ where not only students, but also other members of the community, like parents, teachers, elderly, university students, etc. can, and should, come together to build a sustainable future together.
• Particularly women need to be empowered more to take leadership positions in education. The Leaders in Teaching initiative in Rwanda is an impactful example of how to improve gender equality where women take middle management positions as so-called “subject leaders”.

Enabling Community Involvement

• The benefits of increased community involvement, and particularly that of parents, in education systems were broadly discussed at the summit.
• For example, the Haitian school systems puts an increasing focus on the 3Cs culture, customs, community, empowering not only students but also their parents to become active change-makers.
• As education always also represents a community’s traditions and values, it is key to consult and involve them in creating curricula.

Salzburg Global Seminar at WISE 2021

A Knowledge Partner to the summit, Salzburg Global Program Director Dominic Regester, also moderated a conversation on Ethical Leadership.

Recent social justice movements like #MeToo, #BlackLivesMatter, and #FridaysForFuture have demonstrated the increasing public demand, particularly among youth, for leadership driven by ethics and accountability. In education, like in politics, ethical leadership requires respect for values and the dignity of others. It calls for schools to nurture cultures of equity, fairness and respect for our community and planet. In a world that is afflicted by multiple ongoing "pandemics" beyond COVID-19 – including environmental devastation and climate change, social injustice, poverty, and financial inequality – how can we ensure that schools are places where ethical leadership is being both modeled and taught?

Speakers: David Moinina Sengeh, Minister of Basic and Senior Secondary Education and Chief Innovation Officer for the Directorate of Science, Technology and Innovation in Sierra Leone; Nedgine Paul Deroly, Founder and CEO of Anseye Pou Ayiti; Patrick G. Awuah, Founder and President, Ashesi University