Welcome to the United Nations
For the past 12 years, Life Project 4 Youth has been preparing young adults for their professional life by integrating digital technology into its training programs. Several projects target the specific needs of the Youth and take into account the use of technologies in their lives.
Following the theme of this year’s Commission, LP4Y organized a side event to share: Concrete solutions that use digital technologies as an inclusive tool to empower Youth living in extreme poverty.
This webinar highlighted some of our latest practices and explained the various methods used to foster Youth inclusion. It included 2 Youth testimonies, and a presentation by 360 Learning, General Electric, Techno India, and the permanent missions of India and Portugal to the United Nations on the topic.
LP4Y integrates digital technologies into its educational programs in three ways :
- Access to quality hardware with the setup of an equipped communication room in every center
- Creation of a digital identity for all youths
- Launch of an interactive and collaborative E-learning and networking platform. The Covid-19 pandemic accelerated the implementation of this platform called Digital Inc – Inc for Inclusion.
Digital Inc. – was created thanks to our partner 360 Learning. They provide a customizable digital platform. 100 courses have already been created for the youths, and stakeholders are contributing every day to build knowledge and expertise for the platform.
We also mentioned another LP4Y initiative: Connect 4 Change. The objective behind this program is to train young women on basic digital technologies and then they give back by training women from their local community.
The corporate world is also involved: Vivian Hong, technical project manager at GE Healthcare, explained: on Digital Inc, the role of GE is to recruit GE volunteers who select relevant training to create content.
One LP4Y’s local partner in India, Meghdut Roy Chowdury, director of Techno India, said “It’s been a fantastic time of innovation and disruption because Covid-19 turned out to be the Chief Technical Officer we never knew we needed”. His team created a platform called Off-beat education: a Learning Relationship Management System (LRMS) designed to simplify the online transition and long-term digital journey for school teachers and their students.
Finally, we were honored to hear from national representatives. Ashish Sharma – First Secretary of the Permanent Mission of India to the UN – observed that India’s digital transformation is only just starting. It will galvanize several economic sectors and increase the well-being of indian citizens, especially the Youth which consists of the larger part of the Indian population. For Nuno Mathias – Deputy Permanent Representative of Portugal to the UN, the pandemic has reinforced a sense of urgency. So, no surprise here, that their post-covid-19 recovery plan includes digital schools in the roadmap. That is a necessity and a priority.
Social inclusion is a common and global matter: more than ever the public sector, policy-makers, corporations and social organisations all have to work together to bridge the challenge that is the digital divide.
Please see video on LP4Y Connect 4 Change project in India.