About the project
Teachers are essential to the achievement of Education 2030 and SDG4 in ensuring inclusive and equitable quality education and promoting lifelong learning opportunities for all. Meanwhile, teaching becomes an ever-challenging professional area in the digital age, as proven once again by the COVID-19 pandemic. To meet the educational needs of different countries, UNESCO IITE and NetDragon (China) jointly initiated the project “Teacher Capacity Building with AI and Digital Technologies: E-library for Teachers”. It was officially released at Global Smart Education Conference 2021 (GSE 2021) in Beijing, China on August 18, 2021.
The Project will develop open educational resources in various languages, including English, Russian and Arabic. Around 100,000 educators in Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and the CIS will benefit from the educational training, interactive communication, and resource construction. In addition, global and regional partnerships will be built in selected countries, enterprises, and educational organizations to empower teachers in quality and equitable education.
The supporting partners
Since its launch in March 2021, many partners have gravitated toward this Project. As of this release at the Forum on Smart Education and Digital Resources of GSE 2021, it has attracted official partners, including the education departments of Serbia, Thailand, and Tunisia, organizations such as the Commonwealth of Learning (COL), Arab League Educational, Cultural and Scientific Organization (ALECSO), and Go-Lab Initiative, and companies such as Autodesk. The Project will start from resource sharing and expand its cooperation with international organizations and enterprises and draw more partners for quality services to teachers and learners around the world.
In the online project release video, a representative of the Serbian Ministry of Education expressed his support for the project and highlighted its importance for the educational community.
AI, VR, and physics simulation are emerging technologies well utilized in education. Therefore, Serbia needs well-trained teachers and a sophisticatedly designed E-library for Teachers. This is very important for teachers and students in Serbia.”
– Professor Danimir Mandic, Dean of the Faculty of Teacher Education, University of Belgrade, Serbia
Zhan Tao, Director of UNESCO IITE, and Xiong Li, CEO of NetDragon, also expressed their strong support towards the establishment of the E-library for Teachers.
Faced with COVID-19, we are more convinced than ever that digital education is the future and will benefit all learners.
– Tao Zhan, Director of UNESCO IITE
The current situation
Last year to accelerate this cause, NetDragon launched the construction of a global digital educational resource production base in Fuzhou, Fujian. The aspiration was to unite more enterprises on the value chain for resource R&D and production and let more countries enjoy high-quality fruits. UNESCO IITE and NetDragon will further strengthen their cooperation on the Project to support quality teaching and provide a better lifelong learning model for teachers and learners worldwide.