Dubai gears up for RewirEd Global Education Summit to be held at Expo 2020

Summit reflects Dubai’s role as a bridge between cultures and a facilitator of global dialogue and knowledge exchange. Registration for the Summit, to be held from 12–14 December 2021 at Knowledge and Learning Week at Expo 2020, is now open. Key stakeholders including governments, youth representatives, education shapers and business leaders from around the world will gather to discuss critical issues in education.

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Government of Dubai Media Office – 06 July 2021: RewirEd, the first of its kind global platform that seeks to reimagine the future of education, is set to host its flagship global education summit (RewirEd Summit) from 12 – 14 December 2021, during the Knowledge and Learning Week at Expo 2020 Dubai. Led by Dubai Cares, in partnership with Expo 2020 Dubai and in close coordination with the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation (MoFAIC), and delivered in partnership with global stakeholders, RewirEd aims to be a catalyst in redefining education to ensure a future that is prosperous, sustainable, innovative and accessible to all.

Part of the broader RewirEd platform, which is set to attract around 2,000 participants, the RewirEd Summit, aims to collectively explore new approaches to education challenges and discuss a shared vision and concrete action plan to shape the future of education. The Summit is set to be a significant event that will help shift the global narrative on education from the impossible to the possible. Registration for the Summit is now open to everyone. Attendees can register their spot by visiting: https://www.rewired2021.com/summit/

The gathering of key stakeholders, including governments, youth representatives, education shapers and business leaders from around the world, will also unveil emerging provocations, which consist of a series of co-designed ideas and experiments to help move current thinking from the usual to the unusual and address systemic, complex, and structural challenges impacting the education system. These provocations offer an opportunity to collectively identify and understand the variety of perspectives and systemic shifts needed to meaningfully co-create a better way forward for education.

Key international organisations have joined forces with the RewirEd Summit to make the event a success. These include UNICEF, UNESCO, UNHCR, the World Economic Forum (WEF), the Global Partnership for Education (GPE), Education Cannot Wait (ECW), the World Food Programme (WFP), Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the World Bank and the Office of the UN Special Envoy for Global Education.

Dr. Tariq Al Gurg, Chief Executive Officer at Dubai Cares and Commissioner General for the Dubai Cares Pavilion at Expo 2020 Dubai commented: “The RewirEd Summit in Dubai promises to be the largest in-person global education gathering that will offer all key stakeholders from around the world a strategic platform to rally for education. The World Expo also provides us with a unique opportunity to have a global conversation on the future of education, especially given the education disruption we have witnessed during the past 15 months due to the pandemic. The Summit will not only tackle current global education challenges but also explore entirely new approaches to rewire education, so that children and youth everywhere can receive an education fit for the future.”

“The Summit reflects Dubai’s role as a bridge between cultures and a facilitator of global dialogue and knowledge exchange. It will truly be a privilege to come together and unlock fresh solutions and innovations. Let’s work together as one united global community to reshape education by 2030,” Dr. Al Gurg added.

The event has already attracted the support of international and regional education leaders and stakeholders from around the world. The agenda features Ministers of Education, high-profile speakers and panelists from UN agencies, international NGOs, academia, as well as representatives of the youth and public and private sectors around the world.

Rt. Hon Gordon Brown, United Nations Special Envoy for Global Education and former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom added: “We have to be the first generation in history where every single child goes to school, but COVID-19 has set us back. It is time to develop not just some of the potential of some children, but all the potential of all children. The RewirEd Summit that will take place in December 2021 is going to make a huge difference and is a turning point for education.”

Henrietta H. Fore, Executive Director at UNICEF said: “The global COVID-19 pandemic has deepened the global learning crisis and cast a spotlight on the digital divide and the skills gap that keep millions of young people from education, jobs and opportunities that they need. We need to reimagine education and close these gaps and put digital solutions and skills in the hands of every child and young person, to help them and their economies recover. UNICEF’s Generation Unlimited and Dubai Cares are joining forces to rewire education and help young people access the skills and opportunities they need at the RewirEd Summit.”

Saadia Zahidi, Managing Director and Head of the Centre for the New Economy and Society at World Economic Forum said: This past year has seen an earthquake in the world of education, with school closures affecting almost every country on Earth. Old models of education have been stretched to breaking point. But this critical moment also provides an opportunity for leaders to fundamentally reshape both education, content and education delivery systems to prepare children for the societies, workplaces and economies of the future. Events like the RewirEd Summit are critically important because they create a vital space for innovative new approaches to education to emerge and for leaders to converge on shared solutions that leave no one behind.”

Over the course of the Summit, speakers will discuss three key specific themes that are highly relevant to global education stakeholders that have been overlooked for many years.

These include:        

  1. Youth, Skills and the Future of Work: What future skills do our youth need, and what opportunities do we have today to ensure equity in skills development in a post-COVID-19 world?
  2. Innovation in Education: How can we develop innovative and scalable solutions to ensure that children and young people globally can build strong foundations for lifelong learning and well-being?
  3. Education Financing: How can we create new alliances amongst private and public sector partners along with financial institutions to build novel education financial infrastructures?