Global summit aims to entirely reshape education at Expo 2020 Dubai

RewirEd gathering will bring together the most influential global minds on teaching

Rahmatullah, 10, poses in a classroom at Shahid Niamatullah Primary School in Panjwayi district, formerly occupied by ISAF and the Afghan National Police. Having lost his father to the war, he says he continues to hear the sounds of bullets at night. All photos by Stefanie Glinski

Students sit in their classroom at Assad Suri Primary School in Kandahar's Zhari District. Many of the buildings have been destroyed in airstrikes and by blasts, leaving classrooms exposed and bullet riddled. Part of the school continues to be occupied by the local police.

Aisha, 9, (L) sits with her friend Rapia, 10, at Assad Suri Primary School. The girls are one of the few attending the school, hoping to become teachers themselves one day to teach other girls.

Students sit in their classroom at Assad Suri Primary School in Kandahar's Zhari District.

Students sit in their classroom at Assad Suri Primary School in Kandahar's Zhari District.

Once a classroom, now the police dormitory at Assad Suri Primary School in Kandahar's Zhari District. Many of the buildings have been destroyed in airstrikes and by blasts.

Students sit in their classroom at Assad Suri Primary School in Kandahar's Zhari District.

Students sit in their classroom at Assad Suri Primary School in Kandahar's Zhari District. Many of the buildings have been destroyed in airstrikes and by blasts, leaving classrooms exposed and bullet riddled. Part of the school continues to be occupied by the local police.

Boys make their way home after school as Assad Suri Primary School.

Children peak through a classroom window at Shahid Niamatullah Primary School in Panjwayi district, formerly occupied by ISAF and the Afghan National Police.

Boys make their way home after school as Assad Suri Primary School.

Aisha, 9, says she is not afraid to attend Assad Suri Primary Schools, as many girls aren't able to receive an education at all and this is her only option.

Children sit in a classroom at Shahid Niamatullah Primary School in Panjwayi district, formerly occupied by ISAF and the Afghan National Police.

LIVE BLOG: Latest coverage from Expo 2020 Dubai

The world's most influential thinkers on education will be brought together at Expo 2020 Dubai, to come up with a new style of teaching.

The RewirEd global education summit will focus on how to entirely change the way children are educated, in order to create make the system fit for purpose for the 21st century.

We need a new approach towards education. The system that we have today is the same system that was set 100 to 150 years ago

Tariq Al Gurg,
Dubai Cares

Current learning systems are just not working anymore, Tariq Al Gurg, the chief executive of Dubai Cares, told The National, as he introduced the summit's agenda and speakers at the launch on Tuesday.

"We need a new approach towards education. The system that we have today is the same system that was set, 100 to 150 years ago. Hardly anything has changed, and it is not viable anymore," said Mr Al Gurg.

"Why can't we have a system that can be customised, a system that can be sustained for the future and the changes that are happening to the world, whether they are technological advancements, or the way we think.

"The children of today, the youth of today, they are into technology, and smartphones and applications.

"We have to marry the new education system with what the children like, because you can't force children to learn on a system that is 100 years old."

A system in crisis

Even before the pandemic education was in crisis. According to UNESCO, 617 million young people lack basic math and literacy skills, while by 2030, 200 million children are projected to have no schooling at all and only 60 percent will complete secondary education.

Experts believe the widespread disruption of children’s studies by the pandemic will further increase the disparities in education.

Learning opportunities will be further reduced for girls, as well as for those living in poor or rural areas, those living with disabilities, refugees and those forcibly displaced.

Tariq Al Gurg, the chief executive of Dubai Cares, the UAE charity organising the RewirEd global education summit at Expo 2020 Dubai. Chris Whiteoak / The National

The RewirEd summit will be hosted at Expo 2020 Dubai as part of the Knowledge and Learning Week from December 12 to 14 at the Dubai Exhibition Centre on site at the world's fair.

For the first time since the pandemic, heads of states, ministers, high profile speakers, international NGOs, academia, young people and representatives from the public and private sectors from around the world will come together to figure out a new way forward in the education sector.

Key international organisations involved in the RewirEd Summit 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) and the World Bank.

In-person speakers will include the former President of Tanzania, Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete; Reem Al Hashimy, UAE Minister of State for International Co-operation and director general of Expo 2020 Dubai; and former UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown, who is currently the UN's Special Envoy for Global Education.

Education for a post-pandemic world

Mr Al Gurg said the pandemic had starkly illustrated the need for a change, and that is why the Dubai Cares pavilion at Expo 2020 Dubai puts a spotlight on the transformative power of childhood education

"Not every household experienced Covid-19, but nearly every household experienced an interruption in their children's education. We're talking about something everybody needs.

"In the past, there was no technological advancement, but now, with all the technological advancements, with all the wars, with all the natural disasters and the pandemics and epidemics, we need to have a new approach towards education.

"Look at the refugees, if we think we can take the current systems and use them to teach refugees - we can't."

Pictured at the Dubai Cares pavilion at Expo 2020 Dubai: Omar Shehadeh, chief international participants officer at Expo 2020 Dubai, Jessie Ng, vice president – strategy & growth, Pico International and Dr. Tariq Al Gurg, commissioner general for the Dubai Cares Pavilion at Expo 2020 Dubai and chief executive at Dubai Cares. Courtesy, Dubai Cares

The 1,000 sq/m pavilion will be located in the Opportunity District within Expo 2020 Dubai and spread over two levels.. Courtesy, Dubai Cares

The pavilion will also include an area for student workshops, to discuss the future of education. Courtesy, Dubai Cares

The Dubai Cares pavilion aims to be immersive and engaging, and to lead visitors through a journey of understanding around the transformative power of education. Courtesy, Dubai Cares

Immersive zones will lead visitors to discuss the future of work, and the skill children need to succeed. Courtesy, Dubai Cares

The Dubai Cares pavilion is designed with both adult and children in mind. Courtesy, Dubai Cares

The entrance to the Dubai Cares pavilion at Expo 2020 Dubai. Courtesy, Dubai Cares

Omar Shehadeh, chief international participants officer at Expo 2020 Dubai, said, “The world is witnessing an unprecedented disruption of educational systems. Creative thinking, innovative solutions and technology must be deployed to ensure quality education for all.

"The RewirEd Summit, which is the flagship event during Expo2020 Dubai’s Knowledge and Learning Week, provides a platform to spark conversation among different people in efforts to generate new ideas on how to tackle the future of education.”

The summit will be organised around three topics - Youth, skills and the future of work; Innovation in education; and Education financing.

Cutting across the three principles, there will also be a focus on where the need is greatest – namely countries affected by crisis, whether that is war or Covid-19.

Registration for the summit is now open to everyone, because the organisers of RewirEd believe that education is everybody’s business. Attendees can register online.

Meet the child star of Expo 2020 Dubai's opening ceremony