SUPPORT OUR JOURNALISM: Please consider donating to keep our website running and free for all - thank you!

Luxembourg

Grand Duchess Maria Teresa receives educator Hanan Al Hroub

On 26 April, Grand Duchess Maria Teresa of Luxembourg hosted an audience at the Grand Ducal Palace. She met with Hanan Al Hroub who received in 2016, the “Global Teacher Prize”, which is the equivalent of the Nobel Prize for Teaching, by the Varkey Foundation.

The Global Teacher Prize aims to promote the status of the teaching profession. This annual award from the Varkey Foundation is awarded to an extraordinary professor. According to the foundation: “The Global Teacher Prize is a US $1 million award presented annually to an exceptional teacher who has made an outstanding contribution to their profession. The prize serves to underline the importance of educators and the fact that, throughout the world, their efforts deserve to be recognised and celebrated. It seeks to acknowledge the impacts of the very best teachers – not only on their students but on the communities around them.”

The Varkey Foundation is a philanthropic non-profit organisation focused on improving educational standards for disadvantaged children. The foundation was created in 2010 by the Indian businesswoman Sunny Varkey.

© Cour grand-ducale / tous droits réservés

Hanan al-Hroub grew up in a refugee camp in Bethlehem and developed a methodology, based on her own experience, to reduce violent behaviour in Palestinian school children. This teacher was congratulated by Pope Francis and Prince William, and she explains in her book Play and Learn the impact of educational games on the psyche of children evolving in an environment marked by war. She implements her playful method at Al-Bireh school, near Ramallah, where she teaches.

The Grand Duchess met with Hanan al-Hroub in her role of Eminent Advocate for Children at UNICEF and Goodwill Ambassador of UNESCO for Education, Women’s Rights, microfinance and poverty alleviation. The Grand Duchess is especially focused on the issue of children impacted by conflict and children affected by HIV/AIDS.