Sheikha Moza attends declaration of \'Education above all\'

Sheikha Moza to announce \'Education above all\' foundation Sheikha Mozah bint Nasser, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Education above all Foundation , attended a session held here on Wednesday to announce the \"Education above all\" foundation which includes all HH\'s initiatives related to education in conflict zones.
This came within the activities of the 5th session of the World Summit for Innovation in Education (WISE 2013) now in progress in Doha.
Addressing the 5th session of the World Innovation Summit for Education \"2013 WISE Summit\", on the occasion of the first year of establishing Her Highness important \'Educate a Child\' initiative,\" HH Sheikha Moza said that after five years, it seems that WISE has reached maturity and its annual convention became anticipated date for its global importance as one of the large and sincere efforts that are being made in order to sustain innovation in education.
Her Highness made clear that matching commitment with resources coupelled with a commitment to cultural resources is equally important since sensitivity towards various cultures and communities is highly significant.
HH Sheikha Moza who is also Chairperson of the Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development (QF) and UNESCO Special Envoy for Basic and Higher Education, underlines, “We cannot impose a model or one approach, but our approach must be based on the culture of identities\", stressing however the right of all individuals of all cultures and languages to? live in peace and safe realizing that their identities would be maintained.
Her Highness Sheikha Moza bint Nasser believed the need to search for new sources and other parties interested in education to enter into this arena taking into account the need that those parties should adher to their promises, referring to the existence of marginalized communities which we should enroll those, marginalized, communities  and include them in that process.
Reiterating the urgent need to understand the importance of education, HH Sheikha Moza Bin Nasser said, \"Unfortunately, there was reluctance sometimes in favor of supporting education because people do not understand very well the importance of education and do not see it as an economic necessity to move forward, and then it is important not only to keep the concepts of education as a human right, but we should see that an economic element to enable the peoples and to achieve economic growth and to enable individuals to the economic level\".
Her Highness pointed to the very difficult conditions experienced by children in some areas, and said that it is important here to recognize the local culture of these children and their families and to exert efforts to prepare school books in their native language , the matter which would give them confidence .
HH Sheikha Moza shed light on areas of conflict and said, \"Some of the children asked me, Do you have children like us? This means that it is difficult for them to imagine that there are other children living outside the location they  live in , as they are not in touch with the outside world.\"
Her Highness said, \"We need a strong change in the attitudes toward education, and we need to change the way they look to education as an urgent global issue.\"
Concluding her address Her Highness Sheikha Moza bint Nasser said, \"The inclusion of this issue at the center of attention of all sectors will enable us to change the environment surrounding education, and we are in need to change the way via which education are looked at as being an urgent global issue . That blending of ideas would be tantamount to economic and community aspects of the cause of education to another level and make it a top priority,\" said HH Sheikha Moza.
 It is worth mentioning that in September 2012, HH Sheikha Moza joined the Secretary General of the United Nations in New York, in her capacity as a member of the UN Millennium Development Goals Advocacy Group, in launching the Education First Initiative.
This Initiative aims to put every child in school, improve the quality of learning, and foster global citizenship.
Education is a fundamental human right, which is often threatened by conflict and insecurity. In recent years, thousands of attacks on education have occurred in countries across the world. These attacks include killing, injury, imprisonment, kidnapping, beating, torture, and threats of harm to learners, instructors, administrators, and their families. School and university buildings have been damaged, destroyed and looted, during armed conflict and in targeted acts of destruction intended to disrupt education or the functioning of state institutions. Reducing the incidence of such attacks and the associated impunity is critical to improving the lives of children, teachers, students, academics and communities affected by conflict and insecurity.
Education Above All (EAA) is an independent non-governmental organization established by Her Highness Sheikha Moza Bint Nasser.
EAA Vision: Education Above All envisions a world where all who wish to learn, teach and research  at all levels of education systems  can do so in safety, security and dignity.
EAA Mission: Education Above All aims to protect, support and promote the right to education in areas affected or threatened by crisis, conflicts and war. EAA serves as a catalyst for concerted action among partners around the world in order to prevent attacks on education, to respond more effectively to those attacks that do occur, to strengthen accountability and to diminish impunity for attacks.
A policy research and advocacy organization, EAA is concerned with a single policy area: protecting education from attack. In order to move this agenda forward, EAA engages in the following:
? strategic thinking;  global leadership and advocacy, especially with regard to bringing together and engaging the law, protection, and education-in-emergencies communities around the issues related to the protection of education from attack;  knowledge production;  influencing law- and policy-making, particularly with regard to embedding, or institutionalizing  attention to the protection of education from attack within stakeholder institution policies, practices, and operations;  capacity building; and changing mind-sets to make attacks on education unthinkable.
Source: QNA