The College of Public Policy (CPP) recently presented a roundtable “Education Policies for a Sustainable Future”, chaired by Dr. Leslie A. Pal, Founding Dean of CPP. The session highlighted the need to update educational policies to ensure that future generations have the necessary critical systems thinking and problem-solving skills to create innovative solutions for sustainability challenges. These skills must also encompass their ability to understand and tackle the complexity of climate change. 

The discussion was part of the World Innovation Summit for Education (WISE) in December 2021, and brought together government policy leaders, educators, and civil society activists from a range of sectors including education, health, sustainability, human rights and more, to provide a cross-sectoral view about the issue. It was also an opportunity to learn from international experience while exploring the specific local context, to develop a set of policy questions that can guide policymakers in Qatar. 

Participants included the founder of Climate Science; founder of Eko6 and WISE fellow; Chief Creative and Content Officer for EARTHDAY.ORG; Director of Policy at the Qatar Ministry of Education; advisor to the Minister of Public Health; representatives from UNESCO and the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs; the CEO of the World Innovation Summit for Health; Qatar Green Building Council; and representatives of Qatar Foundation’s Pre-University education division, Education Development Institute, and sustainability teams.

The roundtable ensured an engaging discussion and developed a set of points for policymakers to consider in designing education policies for a sustainable future.