Schools to innovate together showcasing how to improve education

By Esther Nakkazi 

Selected schools from all over the world will in a global conference learn and innovate together on how to improve education from the grass-roots up. In Uganda, the Wakadogo School in Rom village, Pece Acoyo, Gulu City has won the slot to participate in this ‘world’s biggest education conference’.

Centered on the theme of ‘Learning Today’, each of the 100 schools will host a virtual event to demonstrate how to bring change, based on their own experiences. The schools will gather online to share expertise and best practices in the inaugural World Education Week, from 5-9th October, in support of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal on Quality Education (SDG 4) 

The ambition driving World Education Week is to accelerate progress to achieve UN SDG 4, a commitment designed to ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and lifelong learning for all.

“The pupils and teachers of Wakadogo are thrilled to be selected to host a showcase event during World Education Week, which will allow schools all over the world to learn and innovate together, improving education from the grass-roots up," said School principal, Odong Charles Kigundi.  

"With our focus on arts education we are proud to be a founding showcase school of such an ambitious project, and are looking forward to our event,” said Kigundi. 

Vikas Pota, a globally-respected leader and driving force in the education, international development, philanthropy, and technology sectors says by sharing the ways in which Wakadogo has developed its particular expertise, there is hope that others will feel inspired to undertake the same journey to excellence. He says the World Education Week will provide an opportunity not just to learn from them, but to celebrate their successes too.

"What's exciting about World Education Week is the idea of schools around the world sharing their expertise with their peers. After a turbulent period in global education, this is a great way of building back better," says Andreas Schleicher, the Director for Education at the OECD.

"The sheer scale of educators around the globe combining to share expertise, excellence, and wisdom in accelerating learning is hugely impressive. If all educators learn from the best educators of their countries and of the world we would make immense progress in ensuring inclusive, equitable and quality education for all," says Jaime Saavedra, the Global Director for Education at the World Bank.

The one hundred schools have been hand-picked for their expertise across a range of educational themes, such as enhancing employability and life-skills; deepening family and community engagement; the use of technology; a focus on wellbeing; and promoting the science of learning and teaching. Each will share their wisdom with an online audience expected to reach 100,000 worldwide. 

The Wakadogo School will talk about a program that meaningfully engages families and the community to ensure children, especially girls, attend school and learn. World Education Week is an effort by thirty civil society organizations coming together after the record-breaking T4 conference on 30th May that was attended by over 100,000 teachers.

The event will be hosted from the World Education Week website, with registration opening from September 1st.