Education Without Borders (EWB) is a biennial international student conference creating networks across cultures in order to understand, and generate solutions for some of the world's greatest challenges. This is achieved by engaging the world's most innovative students and leaders of business, technology, education, and the humanitarian sector in a collaborative forum that culminates with commitment to action.
Goals of this conference are to provide a forum of mutual respect and understanding for participants from six continents, to build a network of highly achieving college, business and governmental leaders around the globe, to share and discuss solutions to some of the world's most pressing social challenges, to inspire a commitment to social change in each country and community represented by our delegates, to ensure that commitments are implemented upon each delegate's return to their home country.
This project's mission is to engage students and experts from countries around the world in active dialogue about the globe's most pressing social challenges and empower them to create and implement solutions. Education Without Borders uses education and technology to help create a world in which all people can lead free and dignified lives.
In April 2001 the vision of a group of college students from Abu Dhabi, UAE came to life, as delegates from around the world arrived for the inaugural E-ducation Without Borders, International Student Conference- conference "by students for students."
Building on the success of 2001, E-ducation Without Borders 2003 was a portal through which global approaches toward life-long learning and the implementation of technology in education were explored. The impact of EWB 2003 ultimately cascaded into the global community as it was attended by over 420 students representing 67 countries.
E-ducation Without Borders continued to grow in 2005; attracting over 700 students from 89 countries around the world and Education Without Borders 2007, which hosted 1000 delegates from over 108 countries, focussed on solving some of the world's most pressing challenges with the theme "Innovative solutions to Global Challenges". Issues discussed included inequitable access to education and technology, media as a tool for social impact, responding to natural disasters and harnessing education and technology to end poverty.
This year, Education Without Borders was in Dubai and 3658 Students expressed interest in this conference but only 552 students are approved. About this year conference quality we can say that was on highest level with 1024 abstracts submitted. Applicants had to be full-time students registered in a post-secondary program. Special attention is paid to selecting students that represent the 'youth of the world', a diversity of nationalities and a variety of educational backgrounds. A number of full scholarships were available to authors of papers judged to be outstanding, which will cover all costs of attending the conference. Students who submitted papers were viewed favorably in the selection process.
Accommodation and registration fees for all international student participants were sponsored by the Higher Colleges of Technology of the United Arab Emirates. Participants were responsible only for the cost of transportation to and from Dubai. A number of travel scholarships was available for selected papers and projects. Students were accommodated in 5 stars hotels.
People with different life and business experience were there as presenters too. Some of them are John Rose Chief Executive, Rolls-Royce plc, Raageshwari Loomba Singer, Actress, Model, Former MTV VJ, Anousheh Ansari -First Female Private Space Explorer & Entrepreneur, HRH Princess Astrid, Princess of Belgium, Special Representative of the Roll Back Malaria (RBM) Partnership etc. During Conference, students enjoyed in great performance of popular singers, dancers and pianists. Some of them are: Riverdance from Ireland, Dudana Mazmanishvili from Georgia, Diana Yukawa from UK-Japan, Ladysmith Black Mambazo from South Africa, Susan Cowsill from USA, Princesses of Violin from Hungary, State Dance Ensemble of Armenia, Anna Phoebe from Germany, Fusion Band of Bickram Ghosh from India, Sivamani from India etc.
Student paper presentations at the Education without Borders 2009 conference culminated in a ceremony with HE Sheikh Nahayan Mabarak Al Nahayan, Chancellor the Higher Colleges of Technology, presenting awards to best paper presenters across the different themes of the conference. As the most outstanding paper was won by Irina Pleva, a Latvian student studying at the University of Jyvaskyla, Finland. In addition to her award, she received a Toshiba computer and an internship at the Toshiba laboratories in Oxford, UK. Irina's paper investigated the burden industry puts onto the environment, and proposes solutions that create eco-industrial networks by establishing correlation between nature's ecosystems and man-made industrial networks. The Lehigh University – Iacocca Institute Global village special award for best paper by a UAE national student was awarded to Ayesha Al Ateeqi, a final year Bachelor of Education student at the HCT's Abu Dhabi Women's College campus. Her paper, “We have come a long way: Redefining Education and its global challenges in the United Arab Emirates”, outlined the challenges facing educational development in the UAE as the country takes its place in a global society.
In 2011, on next EWB Conference, through different eyes, viewpoints from different cultures and experiences, students will form responses to challenges too. They will get a chance to share their original thoughts with more than 500 agents of change - students from across the globe, and leading figures from the business, technology, education and humanitarian sectors.