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Pope congratulates Palestinian winner of Global Teacher Prize


Hanan Al Hroub

Hanan Al Hroub

On Sunday evening a special video message from Pope Francis was played at the Global Teacher Prize award ceremony in Dubai. The one million dollar prize has been awarded to a young Palestinian primary school teacher in the West Bank city of al-Bireh just outside Ramallah. She grew up in a refugee camp, and now teaches refugees.

Pope Francis said: "I would like to congratulate the teacher Hanan Al Hroub for winning this prestigious prize due to the importance she gives to the role of play in a child's education.. A child has the right to play... Part of education is to teach children how to play, because you learn how to be social though games, and you learn the joy of life."

Al-Hroub later told the Associated Press it was "amazing" to hear the Pope say her name, and said she would use the million-dollar prize money to create scholarships for students who excel in order to encourage them to choose careers in teaching.

During her acceptance speech, Al-Hroub reiterated her commitment to non-violence and dialogue, a theme also touched on in Pope Francis' video-message.

"A population that is not well educated because of wars, or by other reasons that exist in order not to get any education, is a population that decays," said Pope Francis. "That is why I would like to highlight the noble profession of a teacher."

Source: Vatican Radio

Watch a short film clip of the ceremony: www.youtube.com/watch?v=MzC4EQqtC_k

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