GeSCI: delivering ICTs in education, partnerships and the MDGs.

The World Bank indicates that there are currently 867 million illiterate adults in the world today, 64 per cent of them women. Beyond these statistics is the reality that the quality of education in developing countries is inadequate.

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Over 370 million of the world's 1.3 billion school-aged children are not in school. Indeed, it is likely that school non-attendance is due to the realization that the value of going to school would be limited. Prevalent gender inequality in many countries results in what little resources are available that benefit boys to a greater extent than girls, with female enrolment across sub-Saharan Africa averaging 20 per cent lower for primary and secondary education. Based on demographics alone, things are likely to get worse. According to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), an additional 15 million to 35 million educated and trained teachers will be needed over the next decade if all countries are to achieve the UN Millennium Development Goal (MDG) of universal primary education by 2015.

The Global e-Schools and Communities Initiative (GeSCI), which is evolving as a pioneer in the field of global partnership, was established in 2003 by the United Nations Information and Communications Technologies (ICT) Task Force to facilitate efforts to use the power of new technologies in addressing crises in education and communities. Collaborative, sensitive, demand-driven, but a pioneer in the true sense of the word, GeSCI envisions and embodies synergies of efforts where no links previously existed. It believes in theory and practice that partnerships are the way to the achievement of the MDGs, for human development is a universal responsibility, it is our common lookout. Thus, all quarters-government ministries, implementing non-governmental organizations (NGOs), global and local private companies, academic institutions--have a role to play. The Global e-Schools Initiative in the realm of ICTs in education aims simply to create and coordinate partnerships in the application of strategies that create the most far-reaching results. In order to help developing countries to maximize the impact of ICTs in education and communities, GeSCI brings together existing efforts in comprehensive initiatives that can deliver large-scale effects.

Speaking in 2004 in Dublin. Ireland, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan said: "if we are to bridge the digital divide, we must match the powerful new tools for development with the people who need them most. The Global e-Schools and Communities Initiative does just that and has the potential not only to improve education but also to empower people, strengthen governance, open up new markets and galvanize our efforts to achieve the Millennium Development Goals. This innovative partnership can help millions of children and young people throughout the developing world to improve their lives. After all, while education unlocks the door to development, increasingly it is information technologies that can unlock the door to education." The response so far to the GeSCI goals--themselves a response to the human need on the ground--affirms the commitment to the MDGs found in numerous diverse centres of energy and experience.

In Ghana, Namibia, India and Bolivia, the Initiative is striving for a sustained impact by convening key local and global partners to plan for and ensure that all elements of a complete system are in place. Multi-stakeholder partnerships involving donor agencies, the private sector, foundations, NGOs and others are honing in on essential implementation plans. The Education Ministries in these four countries and the Governments of Sweden, Canada, Ireland and Switzerland are all critically engaged. GeSCI is also proud to list SchoolNet Africa and InfoDev as key stakeholders, while on the corporate front, industries such as Cisco Systems, Hewlett Packard, Intel, Cambridge University Press and ECDL Foundation, are playing their part. This global reservoir of commitment and cooperation is identifying and pursuing in-kind resources and funding to support planning and implementation on multiple levels.

In India, two states have been identified, and programmes are in early implementation stages. Working partnerships between the Ministry of Education and stakeholders from across the private and non-profit spectrum have been forged. In Namibia, key points have been outlined for a national implementation plan, and in Ghana wide-ranging pro-poor programmes are in the works. In each of these countries, GeSCI looks to develop and implement national ICTs in education plans, identify and secure the necessary resources, and share expertise and coordinate efforts on a more elaborate and complex scale. Working groups have been convened in all four countries, providing further services as needed and matching them with global partners who can provide expertise, funding and goods or services. GeSCI also creates networks between initiatives in different places to share information and disseminate knowledge. A gathering together of best practices is the key to comprehensive deployment of ICTs in schools. The direct beneficiaries of GeSCI are the national and regional e-schools initiatives.

Although determining and measuring the correct indicators for ICT education and community development is a very difficult task, GeSCI, along with its national and regional partners, are not alone. Research institutions are making a concerted effort to address the challenge, as recent publications and ongoing work of organizations such as InfoDev and UNESCO clearly show. Minimum requirements are set for impactful partnerships. Whether or not a partnership has a significant impact depends on the overall achievements of e-schools initiative relative to its stated goals and milestones. Further indicators include the numbers of schools and children with improved education as a result of ICTs brought about through the efforts of GeSCI and the extent of these improvements, as well as improved tests scores, advancement in "softer skills" of learners and increased attendance.

With community development, one key measure is the number of communities and people impacted by having established or improved e-schools, resulting in an increase in wealth or income in communities, decrease in incidence of preventable diseases, and increase in the number of community members trained in ICTs, as well as in the percentage of women and those using the facilities for communication and distance-learning.

Undoubtedly, it is an ambitious agenda; and undoubtedly, it is a learning curve. Steering a new departure of multiple players, interests and resources around demand-driven educational strategies brings many challenges. But as Albert Camus, in his timeless challenge to mankind, once asked, "If you believers do not help us to do this, who else in the world will?" In answer to that question and to the needs of children and communities across the world, GeSCI is committed to helping form partnerships with diverse stakeholders who will.

(For more information, please visit http://www.gesci.org)

Stephen Nolan is Executive Director of GeSCI and an ICT advisor to the United Nations ICT Task Force Secretariat. Prior to this, he was Special ICT Advisor to the Secretary General of the Irish Department of Communications. Marine and Natural Resources and had been instrumental in the development of Ireland's ICT for development programme.

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This is part of a series of articles exploring the many facets of partnerships supported by the United Nations Fund for International Partnerships (UNFIP). In the series, some of the UN private sector and foundation partners will convey their views on how partnerships with the United Nations are being built and are achieving impact on the ground.