RewirEd, a global platform set to rewire education for a prosperous and sustainable future, launched on the sidelines of the 75th United Nations General Assembly (UNGA)

As the world finds itself face to face with a global health crisis that has revealed vulnerabilities in all sectors, most notably education; and with the realization that despite huge advances in all aspects of human society; educational models around the world have largely remained the same since the 1st industrial revolution; a new platform with the vision to rewire education for a prosperous and sustainable future was launched today on the sidelines of the 75th United Nations General Assembly (UNGA).

RewirEd, a collaboration between Dubai Cares and Expo 2020 Dubai, delivered in close coordination with the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation (MoFAIC), and in partnership with global stakeholders, aims to reclaim the foundational role of education in achieving the Global Goals to ensure a future that is prosperous, sustainable, innovative and accessible to all. 

RewirEd will work towards ensuring that education and learning are at the center of human development and investment, as well as ambitiously seek to unlock new solutions and innovation for the future of education by fostering collaboration between new and unlikely allies, whilst bringing together existing platforms and partnerships to amplify their impact. Through an open and collaborative approach, RewirEd will also elevate youth voices as drivers of progress in education policy and practice to ensure more relevant, agile and resilient systems that respond to local priorities and realities.

RewirEd will deliver three key initiatives that will catalyze a global conversation on education: 

1.   RewirEd Talks

RewirEd Talks is a platform for everyone to host and share their own discussions on the future of education. The initiative, which is set to run from September 22nd to November 22nd, aims to engage people of all ages and backgrounds from around the world, by encouraging them to host bold and thought-provoking conversations on education, enabled by the RewirEd Talks Playbook. The main goal is to trigger conversations on education that will help reshape education.

The Playbook, available on www.rewired2021.com/playbook, will guide groups on how to host meaningful and interactive conversations on education. Participants will record or note down their key insights via social media or through the RewirEd website. These insights will be carefully analyzed and collected in a report highlighting the main findings that will help guide the discussion for the RewirEd Summit in 2021. 

2.   RewirEdX

RewirEdX is a virtual conference offering global education stakeholders the opportunity to engage in action-orientated dialogue and debate, particularly in relation to learnings, challenges and even opportunities that have come about in response to Covid-19. It will take place in December 2020 and will serve as a 1-year countdown to the RewirEd Summit at Expo 2020 Dubai.

3.   RewirEd Summit

RewirEd Summit was announced in December 2019 to reclaim the foundational role of education in achieving the Global Goals to ensure a future that is prosperous, sustainable, innovative and accessible to all. The flagship 3-day global education summit will take place between December 12th and 14th, 2021 at Dubai Exhibition Centre (DEC), co-located at the Expo 2020 Dubai site. RewirEd Summit will bring together key stakeholders from around the world, including some of Expo's participating countries, to collectively tackle education challenges by exploring entirely new approaches as well as offering participants a unique opportunity to agree on a shared vision and concrete action. It also serves as a timely reminder for countries to fast-track their efforts to achieve the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 4 on education, while also showcasing success stories from around the world and exploring how these could be scaled up for enhanced global impact. RewirEd Summit will focus on three main areas: youth and future skills, innovation in education and education financing.

Her Excellency Reem Al Hashimy, Minister of State for International Cooperation, Director General, Expo 2020 Dubai Bureau, and Chairperson of Dubai Cares said: “As Expo 2020 Dubai is gearing up to help shape a post-pandemic world and create a better future for all, we are excited to be partners in RewirEd, a platform that will focus and deliver on the collective desire to reinvent education institutions and paradigms. In a world where we depend on the resilience and adaptability of human beings for a future that is sustainable and prosperous, it is imperative that we identify solutions to some of the greatest challenges that the education sector is facing. We look forward to this ambitious global platform meaningfully and actively engaging nations, international organizations, private sector partners and key stakeholders in the discussion and the effort to rewire education, as well as to Expo 2020 Dubai international participating countries who will play a complementary role to this dialogue.”

Speaking about the launch of RewirEd, a global platform on education, Dr. Tariq Al Gurg, Chief Executive Officer at Dubai Cares and Member of its Board of Director said: “In December 2019, we announced to the world a global summit on education and our ambitious plans to rewire education. As time went by, we came to realize that in a world that is increasingly becoming more complex, interconnected and volatile, we need to come together in ways that have never been seen or done before - across borders, sectors and disciplines. This is why we have reshaped RewirEd, to become a platform for action on education, enabled by three dynamic initiatives. RewirEd will not only offer the chance for everyone to rethink and rewire education systems, but also the opportunity to rediscover the role and purpose of education. We hope that RewirEd inspires and engages everyone in one of the most important conversations of the 21st century, and we invite everyone to join us at the RewirEd Summit at Expo 2020 Dubai in December 2021 to unlock new solutions for the future of education.”

Dubai Cares kicks off RewirEd Talks through a high-level Talk on the sidelines of UNGA

RewirEd Talks, the first of the three initiatives to be rolled out, was kicked off yesterday on the sidelines of the 75th United Nations General Assembly during a high-level RewirEd Talk hosted at the Global Business Coalition for Education/TheirWorld "Unlocking Big Change" virtual conference.

The virtual RewirEd Talk featured global leaders from different sectors and industries, which included Stefania Giannini, Assistant Director-General for Education at UNESCO, Henrietta Fore, Executive Director at UNICEF, Dr. Tariq Al Gurg, CEO at Dubai Cares, Alice Albright, CEO at Global Partnership for Education  (GPE), Jamira Burley, Head of Youth Engagement and Skills at TheirWorld, Raj Gilda, CEO at Lend A Hand India, Mubuso Zamchiya, Managing Director at The Luminos Fund and Maryam Alhashmi, Associate, Expo Specialist Programme - Director General Office Expo 2020 Dubai.

This special edition of RewirEd Talks was moderated by Omar Tom, Co-founder & Managing Partner of Dukkan Media and attended by 500 attendees who enjoyed listening to personal reflections in relation to the future of global education.

Speaking about the kickoff of RewirEd Talks, Dr. Al Gurg said: “We are very excited to launch RewirEd Talks – a unique initiative that aims to amplify voices that are usually not heard in discussions on the future of education. Yesterday's high-level “RewirEd Talks” was merely a starting point for a bold and broad discussion on the future of education. RewirEd Talks is open to anyone, anywhere, where we encourage literally everyone - students, parents, teachers, educators, school leaders, businesspeople and government officials among others - to participate in the conversation because the future of education is everyone's business. Through this process we invite all of you to share inspiring and thought-provoking thoughts and takeaways so that we can share them with the wider community and co-create a new paradigm for education, together.”

Full details on RewirEd can be found on RewirEd2021.com and social media platforms. To stay informed about RewirEd’s upcoming initiatives, please follow/like @RewirEd2021 on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, and YouTube.

Expo 2020 Dubai, delayed by one year because of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, will run from October 1st, 2021 to March 31st, 2022 when it will bring the world together in a spirit of collaboration, inspiring innovative ideas to address our most pressing challenges and create a brighter future for all.