WISE 2009 has drawn to a close and I have hardly had a moment to sit and reflect on the some of the amazing sessions and ideas that have been discussed. I intend to spend some time writing up my notes beyond the live Tweeting I did.
The event closed with a final gathering of the 1000 participants and Dr Abdullah the Chairman of the Qatar Foundation offered not only some final sentiments but a set of declarations.
Throughout the series of plenary and breakout sessions, we have been listening very closely to the contributions and the key concerns of the participants with a firm commitment to move from debate to concrete outcomes. The identification of 10 strategic priorities is a milestone as it represents a convergence among global educational leaders on the key issues that will affect and shape education in the 21st century.
The 10 strategic priorities declared at the Summit were:
- Access to ‘quality’ education
- A fully integrated approach
- Global citizenship
- Education embedded in the local community
- Protecting education and educators
- Reconciliation
- ‘WISE pioneers’ to monitor progress
- Innovating new ways to learn
- Pursuing sustainable development
- A future built on multi-stakeholder partnership
WISE also refined how it will contribute to drive educational changes in the future.
- WISE will be an agenda-setting forum which will define areas requiring actions across all sectors of education and will seek involvement of appropriate partners.
- WISE will promote innovative practices, methodologies and partnerships, making best use of modern technology.
- WISE will seek to build on the momentum of the inaugural summit to inform public opinion and put education as a priority on the political, social and economic agenda.
The identification of these 10 priorities is a first step. They are fairly predictable and I will be expanding on some of them in the coming weeks in some further blog posts about my experiences. The challenge of changing the face of education worldwide is sometimes too big an issue for me to grapple with. But I think grass roots efforts need to be listened to, amplified and supported. I hope that WISE can help amplify the story of my classroom of the innovation in your classroom or school. It is action we want not just more declarations and talk.
This information is not currently in a form to discuss and comment online, so here is our chance – have your say!
What are your reactions to the 10 declarations? Which is the most important to your setting? And what do you make of the role WISE has outlined to drive future educational changes? What measure of impact would you like to see from the WISE group that is relevant and real to you and your institution?