Event
Leveraging technology for learning: Celebrating UNESCO’s first International Day for Digital Learning
UNESCO's first International Day for Digital Learning
Recognizing the potential of high-quality and accessible digital learning to address educational challenges worldwide and to promote inclusive sustainable development, in 2023 UNESCO Member States decided to proclaim 19 March of every year as the International Day For Digital Learning.
The GEM Report is joining the commemoration of the first International Day for Digital Learning on 19 March by partnering with Restless Development, the Global Student Forum and the SDG4 Youth & Student Network to organize interactive a 2-part webinar and online discussion that will highlight the challenges and opportunities faced by youth and students when accessing and utilizing digital learning. The discussion will bring youth leaders, representatives of regional organizations and other key stakeholders, to discuss the relevance, equity, scalability, and sustainability considerations of the use of ICTs and digital technologies in education.
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A webinar placing youth at the center
The first International Day of Digital Learning will kick-off with welcoming remarks by Ms Stefania Giannini UNESCO’s Assistant Director-General for Education and Manos Antoninis Director of the Global Education Monitoring Report, who will take stock of UNESCO’s vast work on digital learning. This includes recent findings from the latest GEM Report, recommendations from the UNESCO Futures of Education Report, recent guidelines on AI in education and research and progress in measuring some of the commitments that came out from the Transforming Education Summit with particular reference to the new benchmark indicator on digital learning.
Justin Reich, Director of MIT Teaching Systems Lab and author of Failure to disrupt: why technology alone cannot transform education will then reflect on the role of youth in transforming education.
After the opening interventions youth and student representatives from Africa, the Arab States, Europe, Latin America and the Pacific will be invited to share the initial results from a global youth consultation process on technology in education. Finally, representatives from regional organizations and other key stakeholders will be invited to react to some of the points raised by the youth for each region.
14:00-14:10 | UNESCO’s first International Day on Digital Learning: why it matters?
- Ms Stefania Giannini UNESCO’s Assistant Director-General for Education
14:10-14:20 | Where do we stand on access to digital learning and how can we ensure better learning outcomes?
- Mr Manos Antoninis, Director, Global Education Monitoring Report
14:20-14:30 | Why technology alone cannot transform education: the role of youth
- Justin Reich, Director MIT Teaching Systems Lab and author of Failure to disrupt: why technology alone cannot transform education
14:30- 15:25 | Placing youth and students at the centers of discussions about digital learning
Regional dialogues involving youth and representatives from regional organizations to discuss initial findings on digital learning from the GEM Report youth consultation process.
Opening remarks (5 mins)
- Martha Kateri Ferede, Youth Engagement Lead for UNESCO’s SDG4 Global Cooperation Section and Inter-Agency Secretariat
Arab States (10 mins)
- Yasmein Abdelghany, UNESCO SDG4 Youth & Student Network Executive Committee youth representative for the MENA region and youth leader for the Arab States for the GEM Report
Prof.Dr.Mohammad Sanad Abu-Darwish, Director of Science and Scientific Research Directorate, Arab League Educational, Cultural, and Scientific Organization (ALECSO)
Africa (10 mins)
- Sarah Bafumba, Programme Coordinator, Restless Development Uganda
- Chinedu Anarado, Communication Specialist, Association for the Development of Education in Africa (ADEA)
Europe (10 mins)
- Adelisa Sejtanic, GEM Report Youth lead for Europe
- Marta Markowska, Team Leader Digital Education Empowerment and Outreach, European Commission
Latin America (10 mins)
- Rosario Díaz Garavito, CEO of the Millennials movement and GEM Report lead for Latin America
- María José Velásquez, Education Specialist, UNICEF LACRO
Pacific (10 mins)
- Ellen Dixon, Representative on the Global Education Monitoring Report Advisory Board, Education 2030 SDG 4 High-Level Steering Committee Sherpa and UNESCO SDG4 Youth & Student Network Executive Committee student representative for APA region
15:25-15:30 | Closing
Jacob Blasius, Executive Director, Global Student Network
Open consultation
The interactive discussion will conclude with an invitation for youth and students to come together in a closed consultation to share their thoughts on this crucial issue and to create a plan to call for policymakers to place their views and concerns at the centre of all digital learning initiatives. A closed consultation with youth from around the world will follow to agree on the principles of the call to action.
16:00-17:00 | Closed consultation and call to action (closed meeting by invitation only)
Closed consultation with youth and students from around the world organized by the UNESCO SDG4 Youth & Student Network.
