The Education for All Global Monitoring Report for 2013 was published a few days ago. The report is an independent annual publication, facilitated and supported by UNESCO. It provides an update on the progress that countries are making to ensure education opportunities are available for all children.
This year's report makes the clear statement that the global education goals that were agreed in 2000 will not be met by the target date of 2015. The Director-General of UNESCO says that, more than ever, education contributes to achieving all development goals and should be seen as a cornerstone of any global development agenda.
Ericsson aims to capitalize on the power of mobile broadband technology through the Connect To Learn initiative which works to connect even the most remote village classrooms. The hope is that by doing this, high quality education will be available to a generation of children that would otherwise not have access to connected resources.
I first heard of the Connect To Learn initiative a few years ago, and got the chance to join the program as a volunteer while still working at Ericsson Research.
In September 2013 I was in Djibouti to oversee the Connect To Learn ICT deployment in five secondary schools located in the capital city, Djibouti Ville. About 150 netbooks were provided to the schools and high-speed internet access secured.
During my time in Djibouti I met the headmasters, teachers and students involved in the Connect To Learn program and was privileged to witness their enthusiasm and excitement about the new opportunities that were possible with ICT tools for teaching and learning.
It's with great pride that I can now, as the program manager for Connect To Learn, promote the initiative at a global level and help contribute to improving both the quality of, and access to, education for children around the globe.
I look forward to sharing progress of the intiative with you through these blog posts as Connect To Learn continues to develop during 2014.
Zohra Yermeche is the newly-appointed Project Manager for the Connect To Learn initiative at Ericsson. Zohra previously worked at Ericsson Research where she focused on Multimedia technologies, helping to develop mobile platforms and contribute to patent development.