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A workshop, during the Internet Governance Forum in Geneva today, has highlighted some of activities being undertaken by a range of stakeholders to build skills in this area and address the growing need for a broader digital literacy culture.
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| Photo: International Chamber of Commerce |
The multistakeholder workshop was organized by International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) Business Action to Support the Information Society (BASIS) initiative, the Centre for European Policy Studies, the Government of Mexico and the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI).
Current research suggests that more than 50% of the adult population in 28 OECD countries can only carry out the simplest set of computer tasks, such as writing an email and browsing the web, or have no ICT skills at all. And despite the development of Information and communication technology (ICT) in education policies, the integration of technology in classrooms across sub-Saharan Africa remains insufficient to meet the needs of the 21st century labour market.
Thomas Whitehead of BT moderated the session and said: “The Internet Governance Forum is at the intersection of what governments, businesses and civil society do best which is to help adjust skills to allow people to really work together to function well in what we see as a new burgeoning technological future.”
Here are our five key takeaways from the discussions:
1. Teachers need to be equipped with the resources and skills
Jon Chippindall, a teacher and participant in BT’s Barefoot Computing Project, joined discussions remotely with students from a primary school in Manchester, England to share experiences on the resources they have used to learn the skills of coding. Mr Chippindall described the learning as cross circular. “When curiosity is ignited students go away and share it in their own time,” he said.
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Source: International Chamber of Commerce
