Haroon Yasin

Activist, Concerned citizen, Educator/Teacher, Idea generator, Social entrepreneur

Haroon’s obsessed with reimagining schooling so that it becomes a tool for the global south to become truly free of poverty and injustice. A formerly disengaged student, Haroon began teaching at the age of 19, and in the 11 years since then, created an organization called Taleemabad (Urdu for City of Education) that uses technology to scale effective, engaging learning to over 10 million children across Pakistan. Third-party surveys reveal that more than half of these people live under the poverty line, and 87% report seeing an improvement in the quality of their life since using. Where next? Haroon’s organization is now preparing to scale across the developing world, delivering its model to millions of children who’re locked out of conventional systems because of their rigidity. Haroon has been recognized by Nobel Laureate Malala Yousufzai, as well as the late Queen Elizabeth for his breakthrough work in education. His organization has also won the prestigious WISE Award for innovation and impact in the field of education.

Education, technology, and pedagogies that liberate their students!

Education is supposed to open a world of choice for children. In that way, education really ought to 'set us free'. But lately, it feels like it doesn't exactly do that. Most children are not learning in school, and even if they learn what is taught, what is required of the world is completely different. Climate change, racial injustice, and a rapidly polarizing world won't be changed by those who're already at the center. Instead, these problems will be solved by those on the periphery -who experience these problems much more intensely than the rest of us. A school isn't only in the four walls we call a classroom. A teacher is not just the person standing in front of the room. Education is ripe for democratization. Technology can enable anyone to be a teacher, and anyone to be a learner. Imagine what a radically different place the world would be if those at the peripheries know, and are able to challenge the conventional ways in which we've tried to improve the world, and failed.

Activism, Ed-Tech, Pedagogy

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Cooking and car repairing!