Nokia partners UNICEF to close the digital gap among children in Senegal

Nokia, a significant producer of mobile handsets and telecom infrastructures, has collaborated with UNICEF to curb the digital divide in some selected parts of Senegal, West Africa, by providing more accessible digital education and training.

In a press statement shared on Nokia’s blog, Nicole Robertson, Vice President of Environmental, Social and Governance at Nokia, commented on the significance of this collaboration. She said,

I am delighted to announce Nokia’s partnership with UNICEF to advance digital skills and coding for children and young people in Senegal.

Nicole Robertson

“Nokia plays an important role in bridging the digital divide by providing connectivity to unconnected and underserved communities. Connectivity, when coupled with digital skills, creates greater opportunities for employment, access to education and healthcare and participation in the digital economy.

Nokia and UNICEF envisioned this collaboration to involve teachers and students and their estimated numbers sum up to over 100 teachers and more than 10,000 middle school students in the deserted areas.

The digital divide connotes the gap between people who have access to digital devices or experiences such as technology, the internet etc. and those who are not privileged to experience any of these.

The digital divide is often caused by a lack of infrastructure and digital illiteracy which is the inability to operate and maximize digital devices to their peak.

Read Also: Google Expands Digital Skills Program to Aba Community, Promises Jobs and Business Growth.

How Nokia and UNICEF plan to close the digital gap

Nokia and UNICEF have come up with a master plan to achieve their goal of making the Internet and digital education accessible to students and teachers in the deserted part of Senegal.

Nokia released their plan in a press release on Wednesday, 18th January, which are; the provision of specific digital training, upgrade in the internet connection and training on coding.

Silvia Danailov, UNICEF Representative in Senegal, attested to the new development by saying,

UNICEF ensures that no child or young person is left behind in the digital revolution. No matter who they are, where they live, or where they come from, all children should benefit from the innovations that digital technologies bring to education – inside the classroom or at home.

“This catalytic partnership with Nokia is a major step in furthering quality education through innovative technology for children in Senegal.”

It is salient to see how much the world is evolving through tech. It is safe to say in this modern age, tech always has been and will keep being the biggest opportunity to happen to humanity. Another proof of this is that coding will be added to the list of the training UNICEF Finland and UNICEF Senegal are conducting.

Read Also: Over 900 students take part in digital skills training by Tekisite, to build the future of tomorrow