NEW
YORK, Aug. 12, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- We live in a
divided world of the haves and the have nots. The rich get
richer, the poor get poorer. There is learning poverty,
technology poverty, healthcare poverty, and food poverty.
When you think about the dynamics of the world today, there is even
empathy and humanity poverty.
This divide gets greater for young people living on the
frontlines of the world's most pressing humanitarian crises in
places like the Democratic Republic of
Congo, Gaza, Haiti and
Sudan, where the remarkable potential of youth
is eviscerated by brutal armed conflicts, forced displacement,
the climate crisis and other horrific, compounding
challenges.
To empower today's youth,
we must urgently address this growing divide.
It starts with quality education, skills training,
and a broad collection of supportive life-long
learning measures fit for purpose, activating an entire
generation of future leaders.
As UN Secretary-General António Guterres points out:
"Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals requires a seismic
shift – which can only happen if we empower young people and work
with them as equals."
This year's International Youth Day calls for us all to
look at the power of digital pathways to enhance sustainable
development. Indeed, digitization, artificial intelligence and
other technological advances are transforming our world and offer
unprecedented opportunities to accelerate sustainable
development.
But in a world where 250 million children
cannot read – or do not have access to a school meal or
mental health – how can we leverage the potential of
technology to accelerate our efforts to deliver on the goals
outlined in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development?
Education Cannot Wait – the global fund for education in
emergencies and protracted crises within the United
Nations – puts youth first in everything we do. This
starts from the highest levels of ECW's governance, which includes
two inspirational youth leaders, Mutesi Hadijah and
Hector Ulloa, who are
activating a global youth movement through
the #Youth4ECW campaign.
Through ECW investments, we are working to bridge the digital
divide, extend remote learning, enhance skills training, and
provide young people with the tools, training and knowledge they
need to thrive in the fast-changing world of the
21st century.
In Moldova for
instance, ECW investments focused on refugee children from
Ukraine and host community
children – and delivered by UNICEF and the Refugee Education
Working Group – have established 98 EduTech Labs across 32
regions. In countries like Burkina Faso, Central African Republic, Democratic
Republic of the Congo, Niger and Nigeria, ECW supports vocational
education programmes for adolescents who have been pushed out of
school.
These collective actions offer an essential first step in
bridging the divide for the millions of children pushed into
learning poverty by emergencies and protracted crises. But more
needs to be done and we urge private sector donors, high-net-worth
individuals and philanthropic foundations to provide urgently
needed funding as we race to mobilize an additional US$600 million to deliver on
ECW's three-year strategic programme.
Together, through the power of inclusive education, digital
pathways and lifelong learning, we can bridge the divide and create
a world united through a wealth of humanity.
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SOURCE Education Cannot Wait