UNESCO, in partnership with Pearson, is seeking innovative and existing digital solutions to help include low-skilled, low-literate youth and adults in the information society and improve their livelihoods.
If selected, your live digital solution will be profiled as a case study in the Initiative for Literacy: Improved Livelihoods in a Digital World in 2017. The cases will benefit from high visibility on the UNESCO website, form part of project presentations at international conferences and inform the future work of UNESCO.
In 2018, using fifteen chosen case studies, UNESCO will develop specific guidelines for digital solution providers, technical and financial partners, as well as governments, who can create policy conditions for greater inclusive use of technology.
If your programme or digital solution answers the questions below, then please apply to be considered as a case study.
- How can digital solutions be improved to be more inclusive, accessible and usable for low-skilled, low-literate youth and adults, including 758 million people who cannot read or write?
- How can inclusive solutions better serve the 45 per cent of European citizens considered not sufficiently equipped with the basic level of digital skills to functional fully in today’s information society?
- How can digital solutions better provide an entry point for low-skilled and low-literate people into digital economies where, as a result of the development of their skills, their livelihoods are improved?
Inclusive digital solutions could allow for voice instead of text interaction, ranging from simple IVR to the latest advances in audio computing and natural language processing. Their interfaces could use icons and emojis to provide support for low-literate users. They could leverage artificial intelligence chat bots to provide first line support to low-skilled users.
The study is looking beyond the traditional education lens to link the use of inclusive digital solutions with improved livelihoods and lifelong learning. The five focus areas are e-Health services; Agricultural extension services; e-Administration/e-government services; e-Services for migrant people, for example, those fleeing conflict and crisis; and “Green”/environmental services, such as more sustainable consumption and production patterns.
- Read about the eligibility criteria and apply now
Extended deadline for application is midnight 31 March 2017.