Inspiration
Maggie MacDonell from Canada wins the Global Teacher Prize 2017 at Global Education and Skills Forum
In a star-studded event featuring Ranbir Kapoor, Mahira Khan, Bear Grylls and other celebrities, Maggie MacDonnell of Canada was today awarded the Global Teacher Prize Winner 2017 at Global Education & Skills Forum (also known as “Davos of Education”).
In a star-studded event featuring Ranbir Kapoor, Mahira Khan, Bear Grylls and other celebrities, Maggie MacDonnell of Canada was today awarded the Global Teacher Prize Winner 2017 at Global Education & Skills Forum (also known as "Davos of Education"). She lives and works in Salluit, an Inuit village deep in the Canadian Arctic. The village is so remote that it’s accessible only by air.
The Global Teacher Prize is awarded by the Varkey Foundation under the patronage of HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, UAE Vice President, Prime Minister, and Emir of Dubai.
Maggie McDonnell has made an outstanding contribution to the lives of her students and everyone in Salluit. She is a deserving winner of the $1 million Global Teacher Prize for 2017 – money she’ll use to set up an NGO.
ScooNews Congratulates Maggie on being awarded the Global Teacher Prize Winner 2017.
Her name was announced by French astronaut Thomas Pasquet in a video message (see below) from the International Space Station.
Watch as the 2017 Global #TeacherPrize Winner is announced from the @Space_Station #TeachersMatter @esa #GESF pic.twitter.com/PYrvk7UkWR
— Global Teacher Prize (@TeacherPrize) March 19, 2017
His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, UAE Vice President, Prime Minister, and Emir of Dubai & Sunny Varkey, Founder, Varkey Foundation presented the Global Teacher Prize trophy to Maggie.
In a pleasant surprise for Maggie, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau congratulated her through a live video telecast from Canada. He said:
“Maggie MacDonnell – on behalf of all Canadians – from one teacher to another – congratulations on winning the Global Teacher Prize 2017.
“You chose to teach at the Ikusik school in Salluit, a remote village in the Canadian Arctic. There are no roads to Salluit– it is only accessible by air and it gets cold, really cold. Minus twenty this time of year.
Watch as @CanadianPM @JustinTrudeau congratulates 2017 Global #TeacherPrize Winner Maggie MacDonnell #GESF pic.twitter.com/48PATzdDoz
— Global Teacher Prize (@TeacherPrize) March 19, 2017
“I’d like to say thank you to every teacher out there. Teachers owe responsibilities to many people – to students, to parents, to the community, the school board. But in the end, as all great teachers know – they are ultimately responsible to something far greater. They are responsible to the future – and for the world that will be shaped by the children they teach”.
He also tweeted a congratulatory message for her.
Congratulations Maggie! Thanks for everything you do to help your students build stronger futures. #TeachersMatter https://t.co/AmOEJUM4Pp
— Justin Trudeau (@JustinTrudeau) March 19, 2017
Maggie was visibly emotional during her Thank You address and was profuse in her praise of the Global Teacher Prize and Varkey Foundation.
In a video message broadcast into the ceremony, Prince Harry paid tribute to the work of teachers around the world. Prince Harry said:
“In addition to reading, writing and arithmetic, the very best teachers go beyond the pages of textbooks to teach young people about determination,
Sunny Varkey, founder of the Varkey Foundation, said:
“I want to congratulate Maggie Macdonnell for winning the Global Teacher Prize 2017 from such a huge number of talented and dedicated teachers. I hope her story will inspire those looking to enter the teaching profession and also shine a powerful spotlight on the incredible work teachers do all over the world every day.”
In 2016, Palestinian teacher Hanan al-Hroub was adjudged Global Teacher Prize winner for her efforts in encouraging students to renounce violence and embrace dialogue. The inaugural Global Teacher Prize (instituted by Varkey Foundation in 2015) went to Nancie Atwell, an English teacher from Maine.
The other nine finalists for the Global Teacher prize 2017 were:
Raymond Chambers, a computer science teacher from Brooke Weston Academy in Corby, Northamptonshire, UK
Salima Begum, Headteacher at Elementary College for Women Gilgit, Pakistan
David Calle, from Madrid, Spain, the founder and creator of the Unicoos educational website
Wemerson da Silva Nogueira, a science teacher at the Escola Antônio dos Santos Neves in Boa Esperança, Brazil
Marie-Christine Ghanbari Jahromi, a physical education, maths and German teacher at Gesamtschule Gescher school, in Gescher, Germany
Tracy-Ann Hall, an automotive technology teacher at Jonathan Grant High School in Spanish Town, Jamaica
Yang Boya, a psychology teacher at The Affiliated Middle School of Kunming Teachers College, China
Michael Wamaya, a dance teacher from Mathare, Nairobi, Kenya