Meet the ten finalists for the UAE's $1 million Global Teacher Prize
Meet the ten finalists for the UAE's $1 million Global Teacher Prize
Meet the ten finalists for the UAE's $1 million Global Teacher Prize
Meet the ten finalists for the UAE's $1 million Global Teacher Prize

Meet the ten finalists for the UAE's $1 million Global Teacher Prize


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On Sunday, at the Global Education and Skills Forum, one teacher will be awarded $1 million for their work in inspiring pupils and the communities they work in.

The award is intended to celebrate a profession that is often underpaid and under resourced.

Here we meet the ten finalists for the Global Teacher Prize.

Finalist Nurten Akkus. (Handout photo)
Finalist Nurten Akkus. (Handout photo)

Nurten Akkus

Ayvacik Pre-School

Turkey

In a Turkish region suffering from poor socioeconomic and educational conditions, Nurten founded its first kindergarten. Before this, children had never gone to school and were very poorly socialised.

She worked round the clock to prepare the school for her students. She found materials, painted and cleaned, created a playpark, and areas for sport, hobbies and recreation.

Her students went from hardly being able to introduce themselves to strangers to becoming literate and numerate and their behaviour disorders decreased.

She has also run projects with UNICEF and the Turkish Ministry of National Education. She was named 'Teacher of the Year in Turkey' by public vote in 2015 and 2016.

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Finalist Marjorie Brown. (Handout Image)
Finalist Marjorie Brown. (Handout Image)

Marjorie Brown

Roedean School

South Africa

Marjorie is a former human rights activist, teaching history to girls in South Africa and encouraging critical thinking and global citizenship. Her students have gone onto represent South Africa at youth forums, the Paris Climate Talks, and various Ivy League universities.

She popularised the Kids’ Lit Quiz in South Africa. This international competition was founded 26 years ago; South Africa has won three times over the past 13 years, despite its being the poorest country to participate.

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Luis Miguel Bermudez Gutierrez. (Handout Image)
Luis Miguel Bermudez Gutierrez. (Handout Image)

Luis Miguel Bermudez Gutierrez

Colegio Gerardo Paredes IED

Colombia

Luis has taught in one of the poorest areas of Bogota, rise with rife with gun violence, poverty and sexual abuse, since 2010.

When he began he met the challenge on three levels: education for sexuality, the exercise of sexual and reproductive human rights in adolescents and young people; and the curriculum itself.

In 2014, he began to change the school curriculum, using innovative processes in the field of education for sexuality, including the interests and needs of the students.

That programme is credited with cutting teenage pregnancies from 70 in 2014 to zero in 2017.

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Finalist Jesus Insilada. (Handout photo)
Finalist Jesus Insilada. (Handout photo)

Jesus Insilada

Alcarde Gustilo Memorial National High School 
Philippines

From a poor faming family, Jesus is the first member of his family to achieve professional qualifications, and he’s now the leader of a school in the Philippines in a community where over 90 per cent of students belong to Indigenous Peoples groups.

Jesus’s approach to teaching is known as culture-based education (CBE), which he models in his school throughout the curriculum. It is his dream that education throughout his country will become truly inclusive and culture-sensitive. He has received many national and international awards for teaching, and also for his writing and his promotion and support for indigenous culture.

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Finalist Glenn Lee. (Handout Photo)
Finalist Glenn Lee. (Handout Photo)

Glenn Lee

Waialua High & Intermediate School 
United States

An electrical engineer 24 years ago, Glenn Lee embarked on a career change to fulfil a desire to become a STEM teacher who could offer students real-world applications of what they were learning.

Lee’s pioneering efforts in building a robotics movement that ignited a passion for STEM throughout the state is a testament to his remarkable successes and selfless dedication to students, educators and the Hawaii STEM community.

“He prepares them for life in the real world," said Randiann Porras-Tang, retired principal of Waialua High.

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Finalist Diego Mahfouz Faria Lima. (Handout photo)
Finalist Diego Mahfouz Faria Lima. (Handout photo)

Diego Mahfouz Faria Lima

Escola Municipal Darcy Ribeiro 
Brazil

When Diego arrived to lead his school it was notorious for being the most violent and drug-ridden in the area with the highest dropout rates. Parents were afraid to enrol their children there and staff turnover was high.

Teachers were discouraged and tended to punish rather than reward their students. He has transformed the school by involving students, parents, teachers, school staff and the community.

He has encouraged local businesses to donate goods, and driven projects in his school and in the wider community.

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Finalist Koen Timmers. (Handout photo)
Finalist Koen Timmers. (Handout photo)

Koen Timmers

CVO De Verdieping 
Belgium

After an emotional 2015 phone call with an outreach worker in the Kakuma refugee camp in Africa, Koen Timmers decided to set up a crowdfunding campaign. The campaign allowed him to ship his own laptop, 20
more devices, solar panels and internet infrastructure to Kakuma.

From then on, refugees were able to begin learning about web design. The teaching resources at Kakuma are now used by 100 global educators and Koen himself, to offer free education to African refugees via Skype.

For this and other projects, he has received support from Dalai Lama, Unesco and National Geographic and Discovery Channel.

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Finalist Eddie Woo. (Handout photo)
Finalist Eddie Woo. (Handout photo)

Eddie Woo

Cherrybrook Technology High School 
Australia

Eddie is an enthusiastic maths teacher and school head. He is at the forefront of school-based integrated STEM education, having identified that students often experience high school subjects as existing in separate silos with little practical application.

His own 'WooTube' channel on YouTube has become a valuable mechanism for students to direct their own learning at a pace that suits them and now has over 60,000 subscribers around the world.

Eddie is well known across Australia as an advocate for teachers and their profession.

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Andria Zafirakou was awarded the $1 million Varkey Foundation Global Teacher Prize in Dubai on Sunday. (Handout photo)
Andria Zafirakou was awarded the $1 million Varkey Foundation Global Teacher Prize in Dubai on Sunday. (Handout photo)

Andria Zafirakou

Alperton Community School 
United Kingdom

Andria teaches in the inner city borough of Brent, one of the most ethnically diverse places in the country and 130 languages are spoken in its schools. Its pupils come from some of the poorest families in Britain, many sharing one house with five other families, many exposed to gang violence.

Learning the basics of many of the 35 languages in Alperton’s pupil population, Andria has been able to reach out to her once marginalised students to earn their trust and, crucially, establish relationships with their parents. Thanks to her efforts, Alperton is now in the top 5 per cent of the country in terms of qualifications and accreditations.

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Finalist Barbara Anna Zielonka. (Handout Image)
Finalist Barbara Anna Zielonka. (Handout Image)

Barbara Anna Zielonka

Nannestad High School 
Norway

Barbara is a teacher of English in both vocational and academic classes in a high school with a multicultural student population.

In her teaching career, she has developed strategies and techniques that help low-achieving students succeed, with an emphasis on technology.

Her students are fluent in video editing, content curation, podcasting, mind mapping, collaboration, and screencasting, and proficient in web searching and use of digital platforms for learning.

In May 2017, Barbara received Norway’s prestigious Gullepleprisen 2017 from the Norwegian Educational Data Society (NPeD), which celebrates the teaching of IT.

The specs

Engine: 2.3-litre, turbo four-cylinder

Transmission: 10-speed auto

Power: 300hp

Torque: 420Nm

Price: Dh189,900

On sale: now

Sri Lanka-India Test series schedule

1st Test July 26-30 in Galle

2nd Test August 3-7 in Colombo

3rd Test August 12-16 in Pallekele

Sole survivors
  • Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
  • George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
  • Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
  • Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
UPI facts

More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions

INFO

Schools can register for the Abu Dhabi Schools Championships at www.champions.adsc.ae

The specs

AT4 Ultimate, as tested

Engine: 6.2-litre V8

Power: 420hp

Torque: 623Nm

Transmission: 10-speed automatic

Price: From Dh330,800 (Elevation: Dh236,400; AT4: Dh286,800; Denali: Dh345,800)

On sale: Now

New schools in Dubai
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Infobox

Western Region Asia Cup Qualifier, Al Amerat, Oman

The two finalists advance to the next stage of qualifying, in Malaysia in August

Results

UAE beat Iran by 10 wickets

Kuwait beat Saudi Arabia by eight wickets

Oman beat Bahrain by nine wickets

Qatar beat Maldives by 106 runs

Monday fixtures

UAE v Kuwait, Iran v Saudi Arabia, Oman v Qatar, Maldives v Bahrain

Paatal Lok season two

Directors: Avinash Arun, Prosit Roy 

Stars: Jaideep Ahlawat, Ishwak Singh, Lc Sekhose, Merenla Imsong

Rating: 4.5/5

Company%20profile%20
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EName%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EYodawy%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Egypt%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EKarim%20Khashaba%2C%20Sherief%20El-Feky%20and%20Yasser%20AbdelGawad%3Cstrong%3E%3Cbr%3ESector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EHealthTech%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETotal%20funding%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E%2424.5%20million%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EAlgebra%20Ventures%2C%20Global%20Ventures%2C%20MEVP%20and%20Delivery%20Hero%20Ventures%2C%20among%20others%3Cstrong%3E%3Cbr%3ENumber%20of%20employees%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20500%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
From Zero

Artist: Linkin Park

Label: Warner Records

Number of tracks: 11

Rating: 4/5

Ways to control drones

Countries have been coming up with ways to restrict and monitor the use of non-commercial drones to keep them from trespassing on controlled areas such as airports.

"Drones vary in size and some can be as big as a small city car - so imagine the impact of one hitting an airplane. It's a huge risk, especially when commercial airliners are not designed to make or take sudden evasive manoeuvres like drones can" says Saj Ahmed, chief analyst at London-based StrategicAero Research.

New measures have now been taken to monitor drone activity, Geo-fencing technology is one.

It's a method designed to prevent drones from drifting into banned areas. The technology uses GPS location signals to stop its machines flying close to airports and other restricted zones.

The European commission has recently announced a blueprint to make drone use in low-level airspace safe, secure and environmentally friendly. This process is called “U-Space” – it covers altitudes of up to 150 metres. It is also noteworthy that that UK Civil Aviation Authority recommends drones to be flown at no higher than 400ft. “U-Space” technology will be governed by a system similar to air traffic control management, which will be automated using tools like geo-fencing.

The UAE has drawn serious measures to ensure users register their devices under strict new laws. Authorities have urged that users must obtain approval in advance before flying the drones, non registered drone use in Dubai will result in a fine of up to twenty thousand dirhams under a new resolution approved by Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed, Crown Prince of Dubai.

Mr Ahmad suggest that "Hefty fines running into hundreds of thousands of dollars need to compensate for the cost of airport disruption and flight diversions to lengthy jail spells, confiscation of travel rights and use of drones for a lengthy period" must be enforced in order to reduce airport intrusion.

THE SIXTH SENSE

Starring: Bruce Willis, Toni Collette, Hayley Joel Osment

Director: M. Night Shyamalan

Rating: 5/5

 

 

Key facilities
  • Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
  • Premier League-standard football pitch
  • 400m Olympic running track
  • NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
  • 600-seat auditorium
  • Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
  • An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
  • Specialist robotics and science laboratories
  • AR and VR-enabled learning centres
  • Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
MATCH INFO

Everton 2 (Tosun 9', Doucoure 93')

Rotherham United 1 (Olosunde 56')

Man of the Match Olosunde  (Rotherham)

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre flat-six
Power: 510hp at 9,000rpm
Torque: 450Nm at 6,100rpm
Transmission: 7-speed PDK auto or 6-speed manual
Fuel economy, combined: 13.8L/100km
On sale: Available to order now
Price: From Dh801,800
Scoreline:

Everton 4

Richarlison 13'), Sigurdsson 28', ​​​​​​​Digne 56', Walcott 64'

Manchester United 0

Man of the match: Gylfi Sigurdsson (Everton)