UNESCO supports the efforts of its Member States to design and implement effective, evidence-based ICT in education policies and master plans. The Organization works to ensure activities on the ground respond to the unique needs of countries and local communities alike and are guided by collaborative and consensus-driven approaches. Special care is taken to support the most disadvantaged populations and guarantee the equity, quality and relevance of education for all.
Through its network of institutes and field offices and in partnership with public and private sector organizations, UNESCO works to ensure that ICT - from radios to cutting-edge mobile devices - catalyze innovation and open learning opportunities for people across life, especially in contexts where education needs are most urgent.
In line with its priority areas, UNESCO works to:
- Build international consensus and provide policy recommendations to leverage ICT for achieving Education 2030 through convening international debates and globally significant documents such as the 2019 Beijing Consensus on Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Education, the 2019 International Conference on Artificial Intelligence and Education, 2015 Qingdao Declaration and 2017 Qingdao Statement.
- Support the development of national ICT in education policies and master plans to help governments and other stakeholders leverage ICT effectively throughout education systems to achieve SDG 4 for Education 2030. Project examples include Leveraging ICT for Achieving Education 2030 and ICT Transforming Education in Africa
- Ensure that teachers have the necessary skills and competencies to support learning and improve student outcomes and digital skills development through the use of ICT. This work is supported by the UNESCO ICT Competency Frame for Teachers (ICT-CFT)
- Support the use of emerging technologies and digital innovations in education by producing forward-looking reports, promoting best practices in mobile learning and organizing international conferences including the Mobile Learning Week
- Support the development and use of open educational resources (OERs). Specific work includes developing indicators to monitor and evaluate the use and impact and OER and facilitating the creation of national OER policies
- Recognize and reward innovation in the area of ICT in education, most notably through the UNESCO King Hamad Bin Isa Al-Khalifa ICT in Education Prize
The UNESCO Institute for Information Technologies in Education contributes to the design and implementation of UNESCO programmes seeking to harness information and communication technologies for education.
UNESCO Bangkok’s Asia Pacific Regional Programme on ICT in Education supports Member States in effectively using ICT to advance progress toward Education 2030 targets. It focuses its efforts to implement the Asia Pacific Regional Strategy on Using ICT to Facilitate the Achievement of Education 2030 through four priority areas:
- Secondary education, technical vocational education and training (TVET) and higher education
- Quality of teaching and teaching practices
- Inclusion and equality
- Monitoring and evaluation