Initiative to advance literacy learning in Morocco launched

[Rabat, Morocco, 29 April 2024] UNESCO, the Moroccan government, and Huawei just launched a new initiative in Morocco to boost the digital skills of 10,000 literacy teachers by 2025. Although digital skills are a key to literacy teaching in the twenty-first century, many literacy educators have limited ability to use technology for impact in their teaching. This is what the new initiative aims to address.

The new program, launched on 23 April 2024, combines the efforts of the UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning (UIL), the UNESCO Regional Office for the Maghreb, and the Moroccan National Agency for the Fight against Illiteracy (ANLCA), with support from Huawei.

The announcement of the program's launch in Rabat, Morocco

"Literacy is the foundation of lifelong learning and a driver for sustainable and participatory development. In light of the digital transformation, it is essential that literacy instruction leverages the full potential of technology. We are proud to support the Kingdom of Morocco as a member of the UNESCO Global Alliance for Literacy in improving the digital skills of 10,000 literacy teachers by 2025," said Isabell Kempf, Director of UIL, during the launch.

Wasting no time, the launch event was immediately followed by a four-day workshop where literacy experts and educators joined representatives of academia and civil society to adapt existing training modules to the Moroccan context. As part of a process that is still underway, participants developed general guidelines for contextualizing the training modules in addition to translating the lessons into Arabic and devising an action plan for promoting the new curriculum. The modules will be integrated into a literacy training course that will be available through the Institute for Training in Literacy Professions (IFMA), a hybrid teaching and training portal developed by ANLCA.

"By strengthening the digital skills of literacy trainers, we contribute to empowering individuals and fostering sustainable community development. We are committed to working together to ensure that every individual, regardless of their context, has access to quality education that meets the challenges of the current digital era," stated Eric Falt, Director of the UNESCO Regional Office for the Maghreb.

By training literacy teachers to use technology effectively and integrating ICT-facilitated learning into its national education programmes, Morocco is enhancing the quality of education in the country in line with Sustainable Development Goal 4.

"ANLCA, aware that the digitalization of literacy programs and training offers new opportunities for learning and for the socio-professional inclusion of individuals, has since 2017 promoted distance learning, for example by developing mobile applications based on existing literacy programs and by establishing the Institute for Training in Literacy Professions. Morocco's participation in this GEC–GAL initiative will reinforce these efforts and will accelerate production of a set of generic digital skills training modules for literacy trainers in synergy with the Moroccan context and IFMA standards," noted ANCLA Director Mr. Abdelouadoud Kharbouch.

This project is part of an initiative to improve the digital competencies of literacy educators worldwide, which was developed by GAL in partnership with the multisectoral Global Education Coalition (GEC).

Huawei has long been committed to promoting digital literacy worldwide. One example is Seeds for the Future, a flagship training program that has benefitted 2.8 million people since its launch.

"We designed Huawei's Seeds for the Future programme to be open and inclusive, and we would love to see the same spirit in the Literacy Educator Training programme led and promoted by the UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning, which wisely uses the digital technologies to amplify education resources," explained Vicky Zhang, Vice President of Corporate Communications of Huawei.

Since its launch in 2016, the Global Alliance for Literacy within the Framework of Lifelong Learning has driven international discourse and guided the agenda for literacy provision globally for those who need it most. The alliance is made up of 30 countries and 16 associate members committed to promoting youth and adult literacy. It serves as a platform for its members to collectively discuss progress and challenges, exchange knowledge and share best practice. To date, the digital skills training for literacy educators initiative has been implemented in Bangladesh, Côte d'Ivoire, Egypt and Nigeria.