Iqrali.jo will be a unique and comprehensive parental platform supporting parents with their children’s foundational Arabic literacy journey.
Organization’s Background and Achievements
This project is one of the 2024-2025 WISE Prize for Education finalists.
The Queen Rania Foundation for Education and Development (QRF) has identified a critical gap in early childhood education in Jordan and the broader Arab world. Through extensive research, QRF has uncovered alarming statistics that highlight the urgent need for intervention in early literacy development. In Jordan, while 9 in 10 children under 6 spend most of their day with their mothers, less than 1% of parents read to their children on a typical day. The scarcity of age-appropriate books in households and the lack of reading habits among parents have contributed to a situation where 6 in 10 children are not developmentally on track in literacy skills.
These findings have driven QRF to develop innovative solutions to address the literacy crisis. The foundation has a strong track record of successful educational initiatives:
- Edraak.org, launched in 2014, now reaches over 9,000,000 users across the Arab World
- Karim and Jana (K&J) educational mobile app series have over 2,500,000 downloads across the first 5 apps
- The Parental Education Program (PEP) has reached 17,000 parents since 2017 and built a regional community of over 500,000 parents active on social media
- QRF’s school library program has developed 63 libraries since 2022 and will have set up over 370 classroom libraries by the end of 2024, with children checking out around 100,000 books so far
New Solution: Comprehensive Parental Support for Arabic Literacy
Iqrali.jo is designed to be a critical resource in a concerted effort to systematically change the reality of early childhood literacy in Jordan and the Arab world. Key features of the platform include:
- Evidence-based resources and tools curated from across the MENA region
- Free access for parents at all socio-economic levels
- Tailored content to meet different parents’ needs
- Integration with a wider national level parental behavior change program
- Potential for interactive community aspects and chatbot technology
What sets Iqrali.jo apart is its holistic approach to supporting parents in their children’s literacy journey. The platform isn’t a solution in isolation but will critically underpin a broader consortium of national and global actors working towards systemic change in Jordan.
Potential Impact and Prospects
QRF has ambitious plans for Iqrali.jo:
- Develop a highly tailored experience for parents, ensuring the right tools and evidence-based resources are offered to support children’s foundational literacy
- Create an interactive community aspect and effectively use technologies such as chatbots to increase usability and impact
- Integrate the platform into a wider program of work focused on supporting parents
- Potential for replication and tailoring for other countries across the Arabic-speaking world
Addressing WISE Prize for Education Challenges
Iqrali.jo addresses the following WISE Prize challenges:
- Artificial Intelligence in Education ☑️
- Teaching of Arabic Language ☑️
- Foundational Literacies ☑️
The solution directly addresses these challenges by leveraging technology to support Arabic language literacy, focusing on foundational skills, and incorporating AI-driven personalization for parents.