Sanjay E. Sarma

I could wish Community Jameel, [congratulations] on its 75th anniversary  –  and I do wholeheartedly – but I wish for the World another 75 years of Community Jameel and the spirit of Community Jameel, because the world needs it.

You know, MJ [Mohammed Jameel] has been someone who has taken on the topics that others won’t fund despite being fundamental to the future of our planet.  Poverty: which corporation cares for poverty, a few foundations do, but for Mohammed to create J-PAL, takes vision and a certain courage, and a certain amount of gravitas to say: ‘we will take it on, and we will make a difference.’

Water and food security: again, water is everywhere and it’s soon going to be in short supply, and yet MJ thinks and recognizes it’s fundamental.  Education: education is a little bit orphaned.  And the future of education, rethinking education, this is something we have to do as countries around the world start . . .  their economies start reshaping and education becomes important.  And Mohammed comes and says: ‘let’s take it on’, right . . .   So, his generosity is such that it empowers MIT, and the other entities that Community Jameel has funded to take on problems that others won’t.  And that to me is. very special, liberating, inspiring, and for many of us it’s been a life-changing thing because we’ve gotten into these fields because of MJ.

Even before COVID-19  struck, it was clear that education was going to have to reshape itself. COVID of course, has brought into stark focus.  The [Abdul Latif] Jameel World Education Lab (J-WEL) looks at education and reconstitutes it in ways that are more efficacious, more effective, more affordable, more impactful on students.  Whether it’s, you know, the science of learning, or the practice of teaching, or labs, or the training of teachers.  All aspects of that, the leadership of universities at three different levels: one is the K-12 level, the second is in ‘higher ed.’ and the third is in the adult education, that is people in the workforce.   It looks at creating new scenarios for education such that we can make a direct impact on people’s lives and on economies.  And it’s a consortium and we have dozens of companies, countries, regions, universities, schools, working together to share best practices and to learn from each other, and also to bring together the best expertise MIT and our ecosystem has, to look at the future of education.

Now this was all important even before COVID but COVID has put it in sharp contrast.  The urgent need for rethinking education and J-WEL has put us in a very good place now, in the post COVID era, to take on this incredible challenge that humanity faces.

You know, all the centers at MIT carry the name of the patriarch of the Jameel family: Abdul Latif Jameel.  I have not had the pleasure of meeting him, obviously, but he is clearly a man who created both an extraordinary industry, but also launched a family of public servants –  people who really care about humanity.  Of course I’ve already talked about Mohammed.

Fady Jameel is the person who actually signed and attended the inauguration of the Jameel World Education Lab.  He is someone deeply interested in art and in the humanities.

Hassan Jameel is very interested in refugees in the education space and also in technology.  Hassan and I . . .   Hassan invited me actually to an event in Jordan where he led a very passionate discussion of the plight of refugees and how education could help with Queen Rania and others dominaries from around the Middle East present.  And it so it is clearly a family that cares deeply.   It’s not just one generation it’s three generations clearly.  And then there’s the extended family – whether it’s Amna or George Richards – of people who carry this spirit forward.

So, to me Community Jameel is truly a community.  It’s it’s an extended family of caring individuals who have been passionate about topics, about issues that matter to the world.

 

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