Tech companies urged to support conflict-impacted children 

Tech companies have been urged to step up in the fight to support universal education for the world’s vulnerable and conflict-impacted children. The call came in a powerful address at the United Nations on 13 September by Her Highness Sheikha Moza bint Nasser, chairperson of the Education Above All Foundation (EAA). 

She spoke in a special event next to UN Secretary-General António Guterres to mark the 4th observance of the International Day to Protect Education from Attack alongside global leaders, celebrities, educators and survivors of attacks on education. Bint Nasser pointed to the fact that “last year, 84 million people were forced to flee their homes” and that more than half the world’s refugee children do not attend school. 

She warned of the dangers of the failure to educate vulnerable children and the need for us all to take action. She said: “Perpetrators know that without learning, society does not progress. They know that if children do not acquire the critical thinking necessary to ask questions, the right questions, the status quo will continue.” 

She continued: “They know that if children have no access to quality education, they may well fall prey to those who lead them into extremism. Quality education means those children could be the ones who discover a new drug to fight cancer, develop new technologies to combat climate change, to expand their nation’s economies to conquer poverty. 

“I believe we can break this cycle. We can find ways to educate vulnerable children. We can redesign education, to make learning more accessible. We can use technology to be accelerated learning to own – and if we do so, those millions achieved so much.” 

Addressing tech companies, she said: “Today, I call on the powerful tech companies, who tell us that their products transform our worlds and our lives for the better. I call on them to help us. I call on them to offer real solutions. I call them to disrupt the cycle so that every child can be educated.” 

Guterres added: “We cannot always stop conflicts. But we can ensure the children and young people living through these crises receive the educational support they need. We can take steps to ensure they are supported by a well-trained workforce of teachers. And we can invest in digital learning tools – and universal Internet access – to ensure education can continue, even in the midst of crisis.”

The EAA has an Internet Free Education Resource Bank that provides hundreds of screen-free educational resources and appropriate for several different age groups and learning styles. They are free-access and open-source, making them ideal for quickly providing education in conflict-impacted areas and disaster zones. These were made available in Morocco and Libya to support children impacted by the current crises. All resources can be downloaded from the team’s resource website.