Youth, particularly in Africa, face challenges in turning innovative ideas into innovative solutions because of a lack of technical knowledge, few networks and a lack of funds to invest, among others.

This is according to the Secretary General of the African Telecommunications Union (ATU), John Omo during a Digital Talent Summit in Barcelona, Spain, on Sunday, co-hosted by Huawei and the Unesco Institute for Lifelong Learning (UIL) serving as the Secretariat of the Unesco Global Alliance for Literacy (GAL).

The summit was held ahead of the Mobile World Conference taking place in Barcelona from 27 February to 02 March.

The ATU aims to promote the rapid development of telecommunications in Africa in order to achieve universal access.

“We believe very strongly in strengthening the innovation ecosystem in Africa and making it more accessible to African youth, this is why we have partnered in an Innovation Challenge for two years with the support of Huawei and other partners, which resulted in many promising practices and good cases from around the continent,” Omo noted.

He also commented on partnerships such as that of Huawei and the Unesco Global Alliance for Literacy (GAL), which aims to jointly promote the use of technology to raise literacy across the world.

The two parties at the same event signed a cooperation agreement under which Huawei will fund the expansion of the UIL’s current initiatives to enhance educators’ use of technology in developing countries.

The UIL initiative currently operates in Côte d’Ivoire, Egypt, Nigeria, Pakistan and Bangladesh, and will be expanded elsewhere soon.

Huawei Vice President of Corporate Communications, Vicky Zhang said as a major player in the technology sector, Huawei feels it has a responsibility to provide technology skills in all parts of the world.

“Huawei believes digital talent is a key driver in achieving digital transformation, solid economic growth and better quality of life. We are therefore proud to join forces with Unesco to better deliver on this responsibility,” Zhang added.

UIL Director David Atchoarena explained that the rapidly changing world calls for concerted efforts and strong partnerships to achieve quality education and lifelong learning for all.

“Huawei’s expertise in the area of innovation in learning will be a great asset to the Global Alliance for Literacy. Collaborative projects such as ours will ensure that no one is left behind on this journey,” he emphasised.

Source: The Namibian Press Agency