tech for good
PHOTOS FACING PAGE ( CLOCKWISE FROM UPPER LEFT ) © UNICEF / RAAB , © UNICEF / BOS , © UNICEF / BEGUEL , © UNICEF / LE VU , © UNICEF / BOS , © UNICEF / POUGET ; THIS PAGE ( TOP ) © UNICEF / UN0493975 / SANTOS , ( BOTTOM ) © UNICEF / UN0578536 / CÉZAR
Connect every school
An ambitious UNICEF-International Telecommunication Union initiative aims to bridge the digital divide , enabling internet access to students around the globe .
Deep in Brazil ’ s Amazon rain forest , students from neighboring villages filter into a classroom for daily lessons in their local language . But this is no routine instruction : Their teacher is often located hundreds of miles away in a satellite-television studio in Manaus , the capital of Brazil ’ s northwestern state of Amazonas .
While the program reaches thousands of schools , the school days are short — limited by overhead satellite connectivity . Yet , so valuable is the education that “ many children travel three hours by boat to attend ,” says Christopher Fabian , who works at UNICEF , and who observed the situation on the ground firsthand as part of an official trip to Brazil .
Fabian , who previously managed UNICEF ’ s venture capital fund , has seen digital tech startups in developing countries fail because of a lack of internet connectivity . His observations in Brazil underscored the need to address the global digital divide . Girls and children with disabilities are especially vulnerable to these inequities , he says . A good place to start chipping away at the problem : the world ’ s schools , only half of which have internet access . This inspired him to co-found Giga , an initiative of UNICEF ’ s Office of Innovation and the United Nations ’ International Telecommunication Union , which targets the digital divide that adversely affects schools .
by Poornima Apte
Top / Pedro uses his phone to study from home in Petrolina , Brazil .
Bottom / UNICEF works with municipalities in Brazil , including indigenous villages along the Amônia River .
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