CHINESE PROJECT, ONE VILLAGE ONE PRESCHOOL BY THE CHINA DEVELOPMENT RESEARCH FOUNDATION, SELECTED AS WISE AWARDS 2018 FINALIST

10 April 2018 – One Village One Preschool has been selected as one of the 12 finalist projects for the 2018 WISE Awards.

Each year, the WISE Awards recognize and promote innovative projects from around the world that are addressing global educational challenges.

One Village One Preschool by the China Development Research Foundation is an impact investment solution that provides accessible early childhood development services in remote and impoverished Chinese regions through “Village Early Education Centers” (VEECs). These VEECs provide low-cost preschool services for children living in poverty and/or left behind in villages, due to the massive rural exodus China has known. With its 42-weeks-per-year preschool program, the project enriches children’s language, boosts their socio-emotional development and school readiness.

Lu Mai, secretary general of the China Development Research Foundation, said: “Disadvantaged children who grow up in remote rural areas without their parents present deserve a fair chance to access preschool education.  Over the past 10 years, the CDRF has implemented non-formal, center-based preschools in rural villages, supporting the training of local volunteers as “first teachers” and the provision of affordable early education.  This model has proved to be sustainable and has already been adopted by several local governments for expansion and scaling up.  Children who attend preschool enter primary school having acquired early, foundational skills in literacy and numeracy and in social-emotional interactions. Investing in young children is cost-efficient and is essential for building a well-trained and capable workforce”.

Stavros N. Yiannouka, CEO of WISE, said: “We congratulate One Village One Preschool for making it to the finalist stage. Each of the 2018 WISE Awards finalists has constructed an effective, tested solution to a global educational challenge. Whether it’s ensuring fundamental education for refugees or creating the next generation of empathetic and conscious leaders, each project is already transforming lives, and provides an inspirational model for others to adopt. This is vital to our mission at WISE, which centers around collaboration”.

The 12 projects come from eleven countries and were shortlisted for their innovative solutions to education challenges and their positive social impact. The awards finalists were picked from a pool of 413 projects, and evaluated according to strict criteria. They must be successful, innovative education projects that have already demonstrated a transformative impact on individuals, communities, and society. They must be financially stable, have a clear development plan and be scalable and replicable.

The finalists will be reviewed by a jury of experts and the six WISE Awards winning projects will be announced mid-July 2018 and celebrated at WISE@NewYork Forum in the United States, September 2018. In addition to publicity and networking opportunities, each project receives $20,000 (US).

For further information, visit http://www.wise-qatar.org/wise-awards.