- Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT) and UNICEF have announced the expansion of a global learning platform to help children and youth affected by COVID-19 continue their education at home
Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT) and UNICEF have announced the expansion of a global learning platform to help children and youth affected by COVID-19 continue their education at home. The Learning Passport had started off as a partnership between UNICEF, Microsoft and the University of Cambridge, and its departments Cambridge University Press and Cambridge Assessment for providing education for displaced and refugee children through a digital remote learning platform.
And now it has undergone rapid expansion to facilitate country-level curriculum for children and youth whose schools have been forced to close due to COVID-19. Plus the platform will also provide key resources to teachers and educators.
According to data from UNESCO, 1.57 billion students were affected by school closures in over 190 countries worldwide. And the Learning Passport — which has been in development for the past 18 months — was due to start as a pilot program this year. After the global pandemic hit and schools were closed worldwide, the program underwent a rapid expansion of its reach.
Kosovo, Timor-Leste and Ukraine are the first to roll out their online curriculum through the Learning Passport. And the content available to schoolchildren includes online books, videos and additional support for parents of children with learning disabilities.
Key Quotes:
“Just as COVID-19’s impact has no borders, its solutions must not have borders, as it requires the collaboration across public and private sectors to ensure every student stays engaged and continues learning. UNICEF’s Learning Passport is uniquely positioned as a scalable learning solution to bridge the digital learning gap for millions of students to bring their classroom into their home during the pandemic.”
-Microsoft President Brad Smith
“From school closures, to isolation, to a persistent sense of fear and anxiety, the effects of this pandemic are impacting childhoods worldwide,” said Henrietta Fore, UNICEF Executive Director. “We need to come together and explore every avenue to keep children learning and help them through this difficult time. With long-term partners like Microsoft, we are able to swiftly deploy innovative, scalable solutions for children and youth. The adaptations made to the Learning Passport are a powerful reminder of what we can achieve together for children as the crisis deepens globally.”
-UNICEF Executive Director Henrietta Fore
