WISE 2013 Ends Today After Three Days of Collaborative Debate, Dialog and Networking Under the Theme "Reinventing Education for Life"

DOHA, Qatar, November 1, 2013 /PRNewswire/ --

The 2013 WISE Summit which was held in Doha, Qatar, October 29-31, was formally closed today by His Excellency Sheikh Abdulla bin Ali Al-Thani, Chairman of WISE, following three days of sharing, debating and networking. Under the theme "Reinventing Education for Life", WISE 2013 gathered more than 1,200 prominent education, corporate, political and social leaders from over 100 countries.

To view the Multimedia News Release, please click:

http://www.multivu.com/mnr/63501-wise-qatar-ends-reinventing-education-for-life

In his closing address, H.E. Sheikh Abdulla bin Ali Al-Thani, Ph.D., Chairman of WISE, announced the creation of - The Future of Education Fund - that will help innovative, transformative enterprises and solutions in education: "WISE will launch an innovation fund to foster education innovators and entrepreneurs. The fund will provide financial assistance, as well as expertise and training, to help them translate their ideas into action.  It will initially be supported by Banco Santander, and I invite other organizations to join us."

The Closing Plenary Session held a panel discussion with Ms. Angélique Kidjo, Singer, Songwriter and activist from Benin and Sir Fazle Hasan Abed, 2011 WISE Prize for Education Laureate and Founder and Chairman of Bangladesh based NGO, BRAC.

Before the session, Vicky Colbert gave her first Special Address as the 2013 WISE Prize for Education Laureate, in which she stated: "[Being a recipient] of the WISE Prize this year gives me a profound feeling of accomplishment. The theme of this year's WISE Summit, 'Reinventing Education for Life', resonates with what I and the people around me have been trying to achieve. 'Reinventing Education for Life' means reaching the greatest number of learners and making each learner a better person."

The 2013 WISE Summit was also saw the launch of the application period for the 2014 WISE Awards that will celebrate six innovative educational projects for their positive contribution to education and society. The WISE Awards thus highlight today's most innovative solutions that are addressing major challenges in education.  Applications are invited from October 29, 2013 to January 15, 2014.

http://www.wise-qatar.org/awards#tabs-2

WISE 2013 showed that education reform will progress faster, when stakeholders from multiple sectors connect, share and exchange ideas and innovations - setting the roadmap for WISE 2014. The Sixth WISE Summit will be held in Doha November 4 - 6, 2014.

To find out more about WISE initiative: http://www.wise-qatar.org

About the World Innovation Summit for Education (WISE):

The World Innovation Summit for Education (WISE) was established by Qatar Foundation in 2009 under the patronage of its Chairperson, Her Highness Sheikha Moza bint Nasser. WISE is an international, multi-sectoral platform for creative thinking, debate and purposeful action in order to build the future of education through innovation. WISE is now an ongoing initiative and a global reference in new approaches to education. Through both the annual Summit and a range of continuing programs WISE is promoting collaboration and building the future of education.

Contact media@wise-initiative.org

Video: http://www.multivu.com/mnr/63501-wise-qatar-ends-reinventing-education-for-life