UNESCO program explores tech in education

A program enabling young people aged 14–18 to share views with experts from UNESCO has now reached students from 39 schools in 21 countries.

Huawei has partnered with UNESCO on the Campus UNESCO program since June 2021. The topics discussed in each 90-minute session in either English or French are linked to major UNESCO themes such as education, artificial intelligence, sustainable development, gender equality and citizenship.

Other topics have included the relationship between technology and education, new technologies for today and tomorrow, and how technology can be used for good. Topics relevant to current issues that rose on the global agenda when the pandemic closed school doors in 2020 were especially welcomed by the students, including the changes brought to schools that either have or lack technology, and the necessity of physical schools when everything can be found on the internet.

“We believe the SDG and COVID challenges are incredible ingredients for innovation,” said Dr Valtencir Mendes, Senior Programme Specialist, UNESCO, at one of the campuses.

Other issues of focus during campus sessions have been the value of digital skills and new behaviours to prevent cyberbullying, a threat that is on the rise for many teenagers in an increasingly digital world where social media is prevalent and when young people are outside the classroom.

Sharing their experiences and views with expert speakers can raise awareness among young people, not just about how new technologies will impact today and tomorrow, but the role that today’s teenagers can have in shaping the future.

As well as UNESCO experts, other speakers include inspirational people from the organisation’s networks, such as NGOs, IGOs and start-ups, spanning a wide range of roles, including scientists, researchers and local development project managers.

Aligned with the aims of Campus UNESCO, Huawei and UNESCO are also partnering on the Technology-enabled Open Schools for All project, the implementation phase of which was launched in 2021 in Ghana, Egypt and Ethiopia. The three-year project is supporting the construction of resilient education systems that can withstand global disruptions such as COVID-19. In addition to connecting schools, the project is providing training for teachers and students in the use of digital tools, establishing online platforms to link school and home learning, and developing digital curricula that can be accessed remotely.

The Technology-enabled Open Schools for All project is aligned with the Tech4Education domain of Huawei’s digital inclusion initiative TECH4ALL, which aims to drive education equity and quality with technology under the major aim of TECH4ALL: to leave no one behind in the digital world.

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