UNESCO And Huawei Partner To Establish Campus UNESCO

UNESCO and Huawei have to date run ten Campus UNESCO sessions, focusing on technology and education and reaching students from 39 schools in 21 countries.

FREMONT, CA: Campus UNESCO is an ongoing project program that allows young people aged 14 to 18 to exchange ideas with UNESCO and civil society specialists. Each 90-minute session will include issues related to major UNESCO themes such as education, artificial intelligence, sustainable development, gender equality, and citizenship. Since June 2021, Huawei has been working with UNESCO on the program. The workshops covered a wide range of subjects, including the relationship between technology and education, the current new technologies, and how technology might be utilized for good. Topics relevant to current issues that arose on the global agenda when the pandemic closed school doors in 2020, such as the changes brought to schools that have or lack technology, and the necessity of physical schools when everything can be found on the Internet, were particularly well received by the students.

The importance of digital skills and new behaviours to prevent cyberbullying, a concern that is on the rise for many teenagers in an increasingly digital environment where social media is ubiquitous and when young people are outside the classroom, were also discussed during campus sessions. Sharing their perspectives and experiences with experienced speakers can help young people to be more aware of not just how new technology will affect them today and tomorrow, but also the role that today's youth can play in creating the future. Other speakers include inspirational persons from UNESCO's networks, such as NGOs, IGOs, and startups, encompassing a wide range of positions, including scientists, researchers, and local development project managers, in addition to UNESCO specialists.

Huawei and UNESCO are also collaborating on the "Technology-enabled Open Schools for All" project, which began implementation in Ghana, Egypt, and Ethiopia in 2021 and is aligned with Campus UNESCO's goals. The three-year effort will help build resilient educational institutions that can endure global disruptions like COVID-19. Aside from connecting schools, the project is also providing digital tool training for teachers and students, constructing online platforms to link school and home learning, and developing digital curricula that can be accessed remotely.