By Kim Jones, Curriki CEO
I returned to the beautiful country of Qatar this year to attend the WISE 2012 Summit. This year’s theme was “collaborating for change.” I was honored to meet so many impassioned educators and prominent leaders from around the world who gathered here to discuss and inspire innovation in education.
Whether I met someone from Rwanda or Malaysia, I was excited to find that everyone knows, loves and uses Curriki. This was one of the most rewarding moments of my time at Curriki! It is immensely satisfying to know that we are changing people’s lives in positive and tangible ways.
New Education Initiative Announced by Sheikha Mozah
While I was there, Sheikha Mozah spoke about “Education First,” which is designed to help drive the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) around education by the end of year 2015 so that all children receive primary education. There are 60 million children around the world with no access to education. Some live in conflict zones where going to school could be a matter of life or death. Some live in areas afflicted by natural disasters like the flooding in Bangladesh. Some are refugees. Thousands of refugees are headed to Lebanon and Jordan to escape the civil war in Syria. In many cases, parents are leaving so their children can continue in school since it is not safe or possible in many towns in Syria.
Her Highness Sheikha Moza will partner with many global organizations around the world to help accomplish this goal. Here at Curriki, we will continue to get the word out about our free resources that can be used in places where textbooks are not available. Although many schools lack computers, the number of people gaining access to mobile devices is growing so although we will not be able to be accessed by everyone, if we can get to even a small number of teachers, we will be able to help some of the children!
One can survive 30 days without food, 3 days without water, 8 seconds without air, but not a second without hope. Education equals hope.
Stay tuned, as I will tell you an amazing story about a man I met from South Sudan in my next post.