Ghana and two other African countries will benefit from a project dubbed Technology-Based Open School for All to transform the future of school systems and learning through the digital economy.
The project is jointly carried out by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and Huawei.
Addressing a side event on the project at the COP 27 climate change conference in Egypt, UNESCO Assistant Director-General for Education, Ms Stefania Giannini, said it was imperative to harness technology and change education models.
She noted that the project in partnership could help Ghana and other countries to redesign and build a new generation of schools and learners given the growing challenges facing young people and the risks caused by climate change. .
The event, dedicated to a partnership developed by the UNESCO education sector with Huawei and the ministries of education of Egypt, Ethiopia and Ghana, also presented the preliminary results of the schools opened in the three African countries.
For her part, Huawei’s TECH4ALL program manager, Ms. Catherine Du, said that “aiming to leave no one behind in the digital world, enabling equity and quality in education is one of the four areas targets of the Huawei TECH4ALL digital inclusion initiative”.
“Furthermore, we believe ICT is a key enabler for a greener world with approaches such as carbon reduction, renewable energy, circular economy and nature conservation through technology,” she added.
Commenting on the value of the UNESCO-Huawei project, Dr. Reda Hegazy, Egypt’s Minister of Education and Technical Education, said “it is closely aligned with the overall direction of state needs and problems. Egyptian”.
“I would like to underscore the critical need for collaborative efforts among all stakeholders to ensure not only equitable access to educational resources, but also to fulfill social obligations to students,” Dr. Hegazy added.
Working with over 20 different partners, TECH4ALL’s education program has helped connect schools, promote digital skills and support STEAM for K-12 students and teachers in over 400 schools across the world, as well as for unemployed young and old people.
Huawei has operated in Africa for more than 20 years, helping to connect more than one billion people in more than 50 African countries, as part of the company’s overall commitment to help bridge the digital divide and enrich the people’s lives.
