World Innovation Summit for Education "WISE" 2021

I am pleased to be here with you all at this WISE Summit, after the world was forced to close and retreat because of COVID-19. We have come together again, following a necessary absence, to this same theater to discuss the different challenges in education and how to confront them through innovation. These discussions are particularly relevant this year, as the theme of this Summit is the voice of youth and their right to participate in shaping their future through education.

From the primary stage of basic education, curricula must be created to mould individuals and build a generation that is armed with knowledge and expertise, to allow them to participate in decision-making and contribute to solving global challenges. Indeed, our journey in establishing Qatar Foundation was founded on this belief. Young people have constantly been at the forefront of our minds as we seek to nurture a generation with the skills to lead a knowledge-based community.

In our religious texts, wisdom means knowledge – to use this knowledge and act on it. There is a verse in the Quran that says, “Our Lord, and send among them a messenger from themselves who will recite to them Your verses and teach them the Book and wisdom and purify them." But popular culture conflates wisdom with age; suggesting it is only achievable through an accumulation of experiences over many years. That is no longer the case.

Even early in their lives, opportunities are open for youth to access wisdom through the different forms of knowledge available to them – through quality education, or books, or scientific and cultural platforms online. While the digital world has its issues, it also provides a space for learning about other cultures and gaining life experience. Above all, it is a space in which young people can lend their voices to the causes they believe in. And whoever is granted wisdom, he has been granted much good.

We have seen how social media allows greater freedom to express opinions, whether we agree with those opinions or not, and for the voices of young people to be amplified and heard. There is a great example in the Arab world. There is a great example in the Arab world. The voice and opinions of young people, expressed through social media, were instrumental in the dawn of the Arab Spring. Their contribution was vital in making it happen, but did not lead to its failure.

Listening to young people and recognizing their indispensable role in decision-making is no longer a choice; it is an imperative. We are all aware that the intellectual capacity of the current generations has expanded because of opportunities provided through technology and quality education – something that was not available to the generations that came before them.

Just as the voice of youth has been present in previous WISE Summits, I am delighted that young people have such a central role this year, and that this event provides a platform for them to express their ideas and opinions.

I am believe there are many of them among us today, and perhaps some have the desire to speak out and be heard. Let’s listen to them.