Session
- Basic Internet Foundation
- African Child Projects
- Catherine R. Kimambo (Tanzania - Region D) - Lessons Learned on Capacity Building and Installation in Rural Areas
- Hon Neema Lugangira (MP, Tanzania - Region D) - How to push the political dimension of connecting schools?
- Dr Baraka Maliseli University of Dar es salaam (Region D)
- Abiyot Bayou Tehone- Ministry of digitisation Ethiopia (Region D) - The political framework for School and Community Connectivity
- Girum Ketema - Safaricom Ethiopia (Region D) - An overlay of the mobile network to connect schools - the Ethiopia show-case
- Christine Sund (ITU - Region D) - Preparing the framework for School Connectivity - best praxis from GIGA
- Justina Mashiba (UCSAF - Region D) - The Universal Service Fund supporting School Connectivity
Prof Josef Noll
Wisam Mansour
Jonathan Muringani
4.1
4.2
Targets: Let's imagine that every school is connected in all parts of the world, and therefore very student has the same alienable rights to information and opportunities such as any other student regardless of their geographical location. But the digital divide makes this very untrue to our essence, and bridging this divide through school connectivity project brings us closer to achieving QUALITY EDUCATION. If we put SDGs at the core of human rights, the Former UN Secretary-general Ban Ki Moon's words ring true, "ICTs can be an engine for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Gathering
English
We invite all stakeholders to this session so that we can deliberate on a common approach to school connectivity and find ways to address digital inequality. The motivation is that the digitalisation of schools holds one of the keys to achieving the Social Development Goal (SDG) 4: quality education for all and ensuring that no one is left behind. The promise became vivid in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic as digitalisation proved the proverb, "a stitch in time that serves nine". Schools and communities that were connected or could afford to be connected were able to continue teaching and learning activities without disruption.
However, due to persistent digital inequalities, the majority of schools and communities in developing countries are unconnected. As a result of lockdowns, they faced disruptions and had to downsize or shut down their learning and teaching activities. Where the physical internet connection existed, cost and affordability posed another challenge. Against these challenges, there are existing efforts for driving school and community connectivity, including GIGA, the joint ITU-UNICEF initiative to support the connectivity of all schools and other private initiatives such as the school connectivity collaboration project in Tanzania involving the Basic Internet, Africa Child, Vodacom Tanzania and the Tanzanian government. While these initiatives provide essential lessons for moving forward, more remains to be done. Therefore, by coming together, we can partner to connect by deliberating and finding a common approach:
- To mobilize all stakeholders and pool resources for school connectivity
- To research and develop low cost and innovative solutions
- To conceptualize and deploy inclusive business and sustainability models. The same applies;
- To ensure equal participation and governance, including meaningful involvement of local communities.