The city is expected to continue strengthening its policies in order to ensure everyone is provided with a learning opportunity.
Qatar‘s Al Wakra city has been awarded the 2021 UNESCO Learning City Award for its outstanding progress in providing lifelong learning opportunities for its community.
The city, which has almost 90,000 inhabitants, was among ten cities globally to be granted the prestigious award, highlighting its prominence not only in the region but also worldwide.
“On behalf of the UNESCO Doha office’s Director, Dr. Anna Paolini and the whole team in the Doha office, I would like to congratulate the municipality of Al Wakra city, represented by Mansour Al Boenain Mayor of Al Wakra Municipality and the entire population of Al Wakra for this award,” a UNESCO official said.
Other winners include Belfast (United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland), Clermont-Ferrand (France), Damietta (Egypt), Dublin (Ireland), Huejotzingo, (Mexico), Jubail Industrial City (Saudi Arabia), Osan (Republic of Korea), Shanghai (People’s Republic of China), and Wyndham (Australia).
All cities were chosen by the UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning (UIL), upon the recommendation of an independent jury of international experts, the institution highlighted.
The global award was established in an effort to recognise and showcase good practices in promoting quality education and lifelong learning opportunities for all at the local level.
It is presented to cities in each of the five UNESCO regions that have “demonstrated significant progress in learning city development by implementing the UNESCO Global Network of Learning Cities guiding documents.”
For this year, Al Wakra’s long-term objective of developing into a sustainable city with a well-developed sustainability action plan earned it its spot in the top 10.
The award also highlights the city’s pioneering education sector and commitment to Education for Sustainable Development (ESD).
This all comes within the framework of Al Wakra’s priority to “raise awareness on environmental issues amongst all members of the community through various initiatives culminating in the celebration of the local Environment Day on 26 February.”
Apart from sustainability, the city has been working on ensuring all groups are being provided with equal learning opportunities. This includes providing workers with computers to learn outside working hours, offering several initiatives overseas, and offering education free of charge to those with special needs.
“Congratulations to Al Wakra on winning the 2021 UNESCO Learning City Award for outstanding progress in #lifelonglearning. The city has made lifelong learning a priority as part of its sustainability plan, with a focus on vulnerable groups,” UIL said in a statement on Twitter.
During an event, a UNESCO official affirmed that the “city will continue to strengthen its policies and programmes in order to give everyone a learning opportunity.”
Follow Doha News on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and Youtube
