Safeena Husain, Founder of Educate Girls, honoured with the WISE Prize for Education

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The first Indian woman to win the WISE Prize for Education for her contribution to girls’ education in rural India

MUMBAI, India, Nov. 29, 2023 /PRNewswire/ — Safeena Husain, Founder, Educate Girls, has been awarded the prestigious WISE Prize for Education at the WISE 11 Summit (World Innovation Summit for Education).

The WISE Prize for Education is the first global distinction of its kind that honours an individual for outstanding contribution to education.

In a rapidly changing world, India is emerging as an innovator by harnessing technology for social impact. Educate Girls, led by Safeena Husain, exemplifies this innovative approach, employing AI to identify villages with high numbers of out-of-school girls. Equipped with this information, over 21,000 gender champions go door-to-door in the hardest-to-reach villages of India to identify these girls. Working in partnership with the government and communities, Educate Girls reintegrates them into the formal education system.

Educate Girls has mobilised over 14 lakh girls for enrolment and supported over 19 lakh students with remedial learning since its inception through this comprehensive approach in Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Bihar.

Presented by the Qatar Foundation, the WISE Prize is a testament to Safeena’s commitment to bridging the gender gap in education in India. Safeena shared her sentiments on this accolade, “I am honoured and humbled for this recognition. This is a collective win for all of us working towards girls’ education, right from the government and local communities, to our dedicated gender champions and our valued supporters. Girls’ education is the most powerful tool and a transformative force in solving the world’s most complex problems. But most importantly it is her inherent right. At Educate Girls, we are steadfast in our commitment to contributing to this transformation.”

Safeena emphasises the synergy between human compassion and technological innovation as the powerhouse for transformative change, “AI can help us find the most vulnerable girls faster, and help us deliver quality education at scale however we must not forget that the human touch remains the indispensable element on the ground.”

One of Educate Girls’ most notable achievements is pioneering the world’s first Development Impact Bond (DIB) in education that ties funding to outcomes.

With the WISE Prize, the organisation is well-poised for its next big goal of impacting 10 million adolescent girls and young women in 10 years. The focus extends beyond completion of education and connects girls and young women to further opportunities for employment and skilling. This commitment ensures that the future for girls in India is one of endless opportunities and dreams.

About Educate Girls

Educate Girls is a non-profit that focuses on mobilising communities for girls’ education in India’s rural and educationally backward areas. Working in partnership with the Government, Educate Girls currently operates successfully in over 24,000 villages of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, and Bihar and has mobilised over 14 lakh girls for school enrolment, aligning with the ‘Right to Education Act’ and the Government’s vision for better access to primary education.

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About WISE

Founded in 2009 by Qatar Foundation under the visionary leadership of its Chairperson, Her Highness Sheikha Moza bint Nasser, WISE (World Innovation Summit for Education) has evolved into an international, multi-sectoral platform dedicated to fostering innovation and evidence-based approaches in education. WISE 11, the summit’s 11th edition, marks a significant milestone, emphasizing a new era of global educational transformation. Through its biennial summit, collaborative research, and a number of ongoing programs, WISE has become a global point of reference for new educational paradigms.

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