How is Huawei Powering Digital Inclusion with Technology in Africa?

Huawei believes that no one should be left behind in the digital world, so the Chinese telecoms giant developed TECH4ALL.

TECH4ALL is a long-term, digital inclusion initiative for using technology, applications and skills to empower people and organizations everywhere.

At Huawei Connect 2020, which kicked off today, Kevin Zhang, Chief Marketing Officer of Huawei ICT Infrastructure, addressed the online summit “TECH4ALL: Powering Digital Inclusion with Technology”.

He pointed out that Huawei is willing to work with global partners to promote digital inclusion in fields like education and environmental protection through technology, applications, and skills.

Driving Inclusive Education with Technology

The COVID-19 pandemic has intensified the digital divide between the world’s online and offline populations. Up to 1.6 billion students from 106 countries have been affected by school closures, widening the gaps in educational equity and quality.

To help address this issue, Huawei’s TECH4ALL initiative focuses on driving equity and quality in education with technology. As the pandemic continues to spread, Huawei has been working with partners to ensure that learning does not stop for students.

Basic Knowledge Is Critical for Continued Study

According to a study by Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS), 78% of grade four children in South Africa lack basic English reading comprehension skills as a result of underperformance during the literacy foundation phase from grades one to three.

Closing the Education Gap through Technology

In South Africa, Huawei launched in July 2020 the DigiSchool project in partnership with local operator Rain and the educational non-profit organization Click Foundation.

The project is in response to the South African government’s call to ensure that all children can read fluently – and understand what they are reading – by the end of grade three.
With digital education, we’re not only addressing the literacy crisis, but also equipping young learners with the digital skills required for future success,” said Nicola Harris, CEO of Click Foundation.

The partners are aiming to achieve this by connecting more than 100 urban and rural primary schools to the Internet over the next year. Huawei is providing the Click Foundation with connectivity equipment and the funding to provide high-quality learning resources for the schools, while Rain will get them online with its 4G and 5G networks.

“I’ve seen the value the program is adding to the curriculum. Our learners are able to read, our learners are to interpret pictures, we have a high level of learners participating in literacy activities,” said Principal Maile, Phakani Primary School, Mpumalanga, South Africa.

At the end of his speech, Kevin Zhang called on more partners to join the TECH4ALL program to jointly promote digital inclusion in new ways so that no one will be left behind in the digital world.