WISE Awards 2020

Each year, the WISE Awards recognize and promote six successful innovative projects that are addressing global educational challenges. Since 2009, WISE has received more than 3,000 applications from over 150 countries. Today, 66 projects have been awarded, from a wide variety of sectors and locations for their innovation, positive contribution and ability to adapt and scale-up.

These projects represent a growing resource of expertise and sound educational practice. Every year WISE is building a community of educational innovators which offers a fertile environment for groundbreaking collaborations. Today the WISE Awards network comprises pioneering projects that are bringing positive change to societies and communities.

Selection of WISE Awards Winners

Project representatives from any region, educational sector or level may submit applications which demonstrate the quality and impact of their activities in accordance with the criteria.

Following this global annual call for applications, a pre-jury composed of education experts assesses the submissions to select the finalists before a final jury chooses the six award-winning projects. Winners receive global visibility on WISE platforms and partnership events, along with a prize of $20,000 (US) and are honoured at the global biennial summit.

Support and Collaboration

Members of the WISE Awards network gain global visibility and are given an opportunity to collaborate through various platforms:

WISE Communications: Projects recognized by WISE are featured on the website, showcased and shared with the WISE community via social media. WISE media partner Euronews also promotes the Award-winning projects on the weekly television magazine “Learning World”.

Multimedia productions: Special documentaries and videos are produced to showcase the work of the winning projects.

WISE Books: Several WISE Awards finalists and winning projects have been featured in WISE Books which explore current challenges and solutions facing 21st-century education.

The Global Summit: Representatives from Award-winning projects are also given the opportunity to present and discuss their work at a dedicated Summit session during the global biennial summit in Doha, Qatar. In addition, projects are offered an opportunity to participate in global events organized in collaboration with WISE.

2020 WISE Awards

This new promotion of 2020 WISE Awards will identify, celebrate, and promote six innovative projects for their positive contribution to education and society. The Awards highlight initiatives found to be most creative and effective in finding solutions to education challenges at any level and in all environments. In bringing forward these models, WISE is helping build a network of recognized change-makers to inspire transformation and innovation in education.

Representatives of projects are invited to submit applications to demonstrate the nature and reach of their activities. Nominations of projects are also invited. Past winning projects have addressed a wide range of concerns and pursuits, including access to quality education, life-long learning opportunities, early childhood education, employment, civic education and education in emergency contexts.

To date, the WISE Awards have recognized 66 projects for their innovative, transformative impact. Explore the growing network of WISE Awards winning projects and learn more about these outstanding initiatives.

APPLICATIONS

Applications should be for original works and projects and should be submitted by a representative working within the project. All applicants should, therefore, guarantee that their organization, or they themselves, originated the project, and should not hold WISE liable for any action or claim from a third party with respect to the project submitted.

NOMINATIONS

Nominations can be submitted by persons external to the organization running the project, this could be a beneficiary, partnering organization, government agency…etc. Nominators will be requested to identify themselves in the submission form, although this information will be kept confidential by WISE, nominators may or may not request information from the project in order to best fill out the nomination form. However, WISE will contact nominated projects if they are shortlisted for the Pre-Jury evaluation.

WHAT TYPE OF PROJECTS ARE WE LOOKING FOR?

The WISE Awards recognize innovative educational projects that have already demonstrated a transformative impact on individuals, communities and society. The ideal project would be an ongoing, innovative and impactful education initiative that:

• Has an excellent record of proven success
• Is financially sustainable
• Has a clear plan indicating the project’s future objectives and future development
• Is scalable
• Is replicable in other contexts and regions of the world
• Has a clear understanding and knowledge of:
  • its innovative nature;
  • its distinctiveness within its sphere of action, and;
  • the type and depth of its impact on its beneficiaries.

ELIGIBLE SUBMISSIONS

It is possible to apply for a WISE Awards on behalf of your own project, or to nominate another project for the WISE Award. In order for the application/nomination form to be eligible, your submission must:

• Be entered into the official form on the online system (curriculum vita or other forms of documents will not be considered)
• Be complete and accurate
• Be submitted in English
• Be submitted online by the official deadline at https://programs.wise.org.qa/
• In the case of an application, the form must include the contact details of two supporters (e.g. former donors, local governments, other NGOs, etc.)

WISE Awards 2020