Applications are now open for the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (Unesco) King Hamad Bin Isa Al-Khalifa Prize for the Use of Information and Communication Technologies in Education.

The theme of the 2016 prize is the use of ICT to further the education of disadvantaged groups, Bahrain's Embassy in Washington said announcing the prize.

Disadvantaged groups include refugees, internationally displaced persons, socioeconomically disadvantaged learners, individuals with disabilities, cultural, ethnic and religious minorities, and vulnerable women and girls. Organisations or individuals that use innovative practices to leverage ICTs to expand educational access for these groups are invited and encouraged to apply for the award, it said.

Equity in education is a key pillar in Sustainable Development Goal 4. Since 2005, the King Hamad Prize has recognised innovations in teaching and learning that leverage technology to improve educational outcomes, working to move global educational development forward.

The director-general of Unesco will select two winners, based on recommendations made by an international jury of five independent and recognised experts in the area of ICTs in education from each region. The prize will be awarded on February 21, 2017 at a ceremony held at the Unesco headquarters in Paris. Winners will receive $25,000 each, along with a certificate of recognition signed by the director-general and the chairperson of the international jury of independent experts.

The deadline for submission is September 30, 2016. More information and applications can be accessed at https://www.unesco.org/new/en/unesco/themes/icts/ict-in-education-prize/.

Individuals can also contact the Cultural Office at the Embassy of the Kingdom of Bahrain, Washington DC for more information, it said. - TradeArabia News Service