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At the Mobile World Congress 2024 in Barcelona, Huawei held a Green Development Summit themed 'Thrive with Green ICT'. Representatives from UNESCO, Indonesia's Bandung Institute of Technology, The International Telecommunication Union, The International Union for Conservation of Nature, Kenya's ICT Authority and MTN Group discussed how digital technology can be used to promote green development and enable an inclusive and sustainable digital world.
Jeffrey Zhou, President of ICT Marketing at Huawei, noted that digital technology has become a key enabler for sustainable development. He stressed that Huawei would continually work on technological innovation alongside global partners to enhance digital inclusion and promote thriving digital talent ecosystems.
The UNESCO-Huawei ‘Technology-enabled Open Schools for All’ project, which began in 2020 and will run until 2024, features such a partnership. The project has facilitated access to digital skills training, ICT devices, online learning platforms, remote learning resources development and more.
The summit also provided an opportunity to highlight UNESCO’s Global Skills Academy (GSA) and its mission to support 10 million youth and adults from around the world in building skills for improved employability and resilience by 2029. The mission aligns with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the UNESCO strategy for TVET 2022-2029, which focuses on transforming technical and vocational education and training for successful and just transitions.
Friedrich Huebler, Head of UNESCO-UNEVOC and Soledad Patiño, Global Skills Academy Coordinator, presented on the GSA’s work to connect individual learners, institutions and governments to a wide range of training programmes offered by UNESCO’s Global Education Coalition (GEC) members. This is achieved by leveraging strategic partnerships and mobilizing over 230 TVET institutions across 150 countries through UNESCO and the UNEVOC Network. As a GSA partner, Huawei is providing an extensive offer of high-quality, certified and free training modules via its ICT Academies, with free courses in AI, big data, cloud services and other emerging technologies.
The GSA is also addressing the digital gap through skilling, upskilling and reskilling training programmes to improve employability. Ms Patiño said, “Active engagement with the private sector and leveraging the transformative power of digital technology are essential for empowering individuals and communities to thrive.”
Mr Huebler added, “Skills development, which is vital for inclusive and sustainable economies and achieving the Sustainable Development Goals, is amplified by digital technology to empower individuals and communities.”
The summit concluded with six European universities and colleges receiving Huawei ICT Academy plaques, namely the DTI Academy, Yalova University, Learneo-academie, Fondazione Cultura & Innovazione, Politecnico di Bari and University of Alicante. These institutions will work with Huawei to facilitate digital talent cultivation in Europe.
