UNESCO ICT in Education Prize

The UNESCO King Hamad Bin Isa Al-Khalifa Prize for the Use of ICT in Education recognizes innovative approaches in leveraging new technologies to expand educational and lifelong learning opportunities for all, in line with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its Goal 4 on education.

Established in 2005 with the support of the Kingdom of Bahrain, the Prize rewards individuals and organizations that are implementing outstanding projects and promoting the creative use of technologies to enhance learning, teaching and overall educational performance in the digital age. An international Jury selects two best projects annually. Each prizewinner receives US$ 25,000, a medal and a diploma during a ceremony at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris. Every year the Prize has a specific theme, which, while being in line with UNESCO’s mandate and values, advocates for responsible and ethical use of information and communication technologies.

The call for nominations for the 2022 edition is now open.

Theme for 2022: The use of public platforms to ensure inclusive access to digital education content.
Nomination deadline: 23 January 2023 (midnight, CET)

The 2022 edition follows immediately the release of “Call to Action: Assuring and improving quality public digital learning for all” during the Transforming Education Summit (TES) in September 2022, which reaffirms that the digital revolution must be harnessed to ensure the provision of quality education and lifelong learning as a public good and a human right for all, with a particular focus on the most marginalized.

The 2022 edition, therefore, focuses on three keys to universal public digital education, rewarding projects that have made public digital learning platforms and digital content universally accessible, developed digital competencies for all teachers and learners, and promoted universal connectivity in education.

National Commissions of the Member States of UNESCO and international non-governmental organizations maintaining official relations with UNESCO are invited to elicit, nominate and submit candidates for the Prize, thus contributing to a greater diversity of the projects.

Nomination process

November 2022: Launch of the call for nomination
23 January 2023: Deadline for submission
March 2023: International Jury meeting
April-May 2023 (date to be confirmed): Award Ceremony at UNESCO Headquarters

Read the guidelines
Read the user guide

Individuals
institutions
non-governmental organizations or other entities.

The project should be ongoing for at least for 1 year
The project and its organization should not be affiliated to UNESCO or receive any funding from UNESCO
The technology tools used by the project should be open and free

Relevance to the thematic focus: the project is in line with the objectives of the Prize and is relevant to the specific theme of the year
Innovation: the project applies innovative technologies to provide affordable and inclusive tools
Evidence of impact: the project should provide evidence of impact
Potential for replicability and scalability: the project should show evidence that it can be replicated in other contexts or have the potential to further optimize and scale its impact
Inclusion and equity: the project should use innovative technologies to advance inclusion and equity in education, while taking into account marginalized groups, learners in crises and emergencies contexts and learners with disabilities.

The International Jury consists of five independent members who are recognized figures in the field of ICTs in education selected also with a view to equitable geographical distribution and gender equality. They have been appointed by the Director-General for a period of two years.