The first project in this new partnership will provide teachers and learners across Africa with the skills they need to live and work in a global economy. Eighty digital hubs using Windows MultiPoint Server will be established at schools in Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, Tanzania and Uganda in order to promote ICT use and enhance teaching practice.

According to the International Labour Organization, 160 million people worldwide are unemployed. This includes 64 million young people. And yet there is also a huge and growing shortage of people with the skills that the 21st century requires.

Global connectivity is rapidly transforming the world, as online and mobile technologies converge. By 2014, there will be 6.5 billion mobile subscribers: more than ninety percent of the world's entire population. This new world demands a whole new set of skills.

We need outstanding, energetic young people with the skills to navigate this complex landscape. Alongside competence in IT, they will need superb communication and teamwork skills to understand and work with people in their schools and communities.

Technology is a tool that, when well used, can improve teaching and learning. But technology is just one piece of a larger solution, supported by progressive national education policies, professional development for educators, and innovations led by teachers on the ground.

This project is not just about wiring schools. It is about ensuring that young people in their communities are equipped with skills that will serve them throughout their lives: leadership, self-confidence, creativity, ambition, and a desire to connect and contribute to the wider world.




Read the original article on Microsoft's TechNet Blog