Well that's a wrap on day 1 of the 2019 HundrED Innovation Summit! We had an array of speakers from panels on learning environments to inspiring presentations on the future of education by Rob Houben, Manager at Agora School and Vishal Talreja, Co-founder of Dream a Dream.
What an incredible Day 1 of the HundrED Summit which came with a mix of inspiring stories, exciting announcements, great venues, and connections!
We kicked it off by exploring different perspectives on what it means to provide quality education to all, from giving a platform for youth leaders, developing young leaders in Africa, and insights on what it will take for us to scale to millions. We were also inspired to hear from several of our youth ambassadors and were reminded that their voice is essential to the future of education. As Peyton Klein, of Global Minds Initiative, rightly reminded us, ‘youth are not the leaders of tomorrow, they are leaders today.’ Innovators also had the opportunity to present their innovations with each other, discuss common themes and explore possibilities for global collaboration.
One of the ways we are shedding light on inspiring innovations in education is through Spotlights. Spotlights explore each location or theme thoroughly to provide deep insight into educational innovation in their area to share with the world. This year, we put a 'spotlight' on innovations in different cities around the world. We were also thrilled to announce new spotlights in 2020: Spotlight on Qatar in partnership with the Qatar Foundation, and the Bilingual Spotlight in partnership with the Swedish Cultural Foundation.
In addition to 2 new HundrED Spotlight announcements, we also launched HundrED Connect, a new platform that will connect a network of like-minded and engaged innovators, implementers, advisors, educators, and funders. On the platform, selected global and spotlight innovators will have exclusive and complimentary access to seek out the help they need and create valuable connections to solve their unique challenges. Each funding organisation from the Funders Collection will be featured on the platform and will include information on target benefactors and regions, investment themes, support structures offered by funders, average grant amounts, and the eligibility criteria.
Danny Gilliland, Head of Growth and Impact at HundrED summed up the heart of Connect perfectly:
We closed off our night with a gala at Jatkasaari Comprehensive School, which started with a few words from Kirsi Myllymäki, the principal of Jätkäsaari Comprehensive School, and two Helsinki Youth Council members from Finland. Special thanks to Helena Puolakka, Savoy’s head chef, who treated us all to a mouth-watering three-course meal! Helena has worked as a head chef in two three-Michelin-starred restaurants based in Paris and London! What a treat to have her with us!
We also gave out 4 awards during the gala: Innovator of the Year Award, Ambassador of the Year, Youth Ambassador of the Year, and finally, the HundrED Youth Choice Award which was selected by our Youth Ambassadors, who joined the HundrED community and summit for the very first time this year! Congratulations to our winners Vishal Talreja, Alex Bell, Vrinda Gandhi, and Green School Bio Bus. Even our youth ambassadors admitted how difficult it was to select a winner when you’re surrounded by such a wealth of knowledge and inspiration! So a big thank you to all the HundrED Community, without which we would not be able to do what we do! The fun is not over yet! Today, we enter into day 2 of the HundrED Summit and we still have inspiring talks, connection opportunities, and of course some good food! Let's see what the day has in store!
Don't miss a beat! Watch the livestream of all events here.
