International organizations, NGOs, private companies ... a global coalition formed on Thursday to help the 1.5 billion children and students now deprived of schools in the world due to the coronavirus pandemic, announced l 'Unesco. According to the UN organization, 87% of the world's school and student population is affected by school closings due to the coronavirus, or more than 1.5 billion learners in 165 countries. The aim of this coalition is "to help States to develop the best distance education solutions and to reach the children and young people most at risk" , says Unesco.
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"Never before have we witnessed a disruption of education on this scale," said UNESCO Director General Audrey Azoulay. Many multilateral actors such as UNICEF, WHO and the World Bank are part of this coalition. By their side, private companies (Microsoft, Google, Facebook, Weidong, KPMG ...) will be able to "bring their know-how in technology" and philanthropic organizations "are committed to mobilizing their resources" . The initiative aims to “seek equitable solutions and universal access” to education in this exceptional period, the inequalities of access to the Internet and therefore to online courses being immense, sometimes even within developed nations.
