The Wise Awards by Qatar Foundation promote innovative projects that address global educational challenges

Doha, September 4, 2023 – Ahlan SimSim, a programme that enables early childhood development and playful learning to children affected by conflict and crisis in the Middle East, is among six educational programmes that have won the 2023 WISE Awards.

Ahlan SimSim has directly reached out to more than 1.7 million children and their families in Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria, and 25 million plus children through the award-winning locally produced Arabic-language version of Sesame Street airing across the Middle East and North Africa.

The Wise Awards by Qatar Foundation recognise and promote innovative projects from across the globe, which strive to address global educational challenges.

Among the other projects to win the award are:

‘Tekwill in Every School’ (TiES) from Moldova, which has been offering Moldovan students equal educational opportunities driven by IT Sector Market Needs.
International Common Assessment for Numeracy (ICAN), a new simple-to-use and scalable assessment tool that measures children’s foundational numeracy and is designed to monitor progress of SDG 4.1.1 (a) and aligned to the Global Proficiency Framework. PAL Network of Kenya developed the tool in response to the need for a comparable, low-cost assessment tool and to make it available in the public domain.
NaTakallam, the US-based programme that leverages technology to solve the challenge of highly educated displaced persons and their host communities with no access to income. Refugees work as tutors, cultural exchange instructors and translators, providing customers with high-quality language services and building intercultural bridges. It has been addressing challenges facing displaced populations by partnering with K-12 schools and universities to enhance language learning. Started off as an initiative to originally support Syrians teaching Arabic, today sessions are additionally offered in Spanish, French, Persian, Armenian, Kurdish, Russian and Ukrainian.
Nature-Based Education Networks by The Organisation for Environmental Education and Protection (OpEPA), a Colombian-based NGO, which has focused on reconnecting children and youth to nature and people to the Earth to build more sustainable, regenerative and peaceful communities. They have been doing this through nature-based and regenerative education, heritage interpretation and social weaving, with a regenerative approach to cultural, social, economic and environmental dimensions.
India-based Catalyzing ECE at Scale by Rocket Learning, an early childhood and foundational learning EdTech system supporting teachers, students and anganwadi (government-run rural child care centres) caregivers to enhance student learning. The solution empowers teachers/ anganwadi workers and parents as agents of change to deliver high-quality learning to one million children across 70,000 classrooms in seven Indian states through its innovative, low-cost digital model that sends contextualised content in the local language via their ‘bot’ over Whatsapp groups that function as vibrant digital communities.

Stavros N. Yiannouka, CEO of WISE says: “Each winner this year exemplifies the transformative power of education, bridging gaps and fostering inclusivity. As we navigate the complexities of our global landscape, these initiatives light the way, proving that with innovation and dedication, we can shape a brighter, more equitable future for all.”

The awards ceremony will be held in Doha during the 2023 WISE Summit on November 28-29, 2023. Each winner will receive $20,000.

Since its inception in 2009, the WISE Awards have recognised and promoted 90 innovative projects, from more than 150 countries that are addressing global educational challenges.

“In a world where education is the cornerstone of progress, the WISE Awards not only celebrates innovation but also the spirit of unity, resilience and determination,” he adds.