RIYADH: The internet has become a lifeline for millions, with a surge of users going online in the wake COVID-19 an education forum was told on Wednesday.
But Marielza Oliveira, UNESCO’s director for partnerships and operational program monitoring, warned there was need to ensure that this expansion should not lead to the exclusion of the vulnerable.
Speaking at the Future of Education, Science, and Culture International Organization Forum (FESCIOF), Oliveira said the surge in internet users had led to 782 million people going online.
“The internet has become a lifeline, making societies more resilient,” Oliveira said during a panel discussion titled “The Future is Digital – Building Capacity in Organizations”.
“Digital solutions can promote quality lifelong learning, job creation, poverty reduction, inclusion, and ways to address scarcity of critical resources such as water and food.”
She warned of unequal access to connectivity, but said that there were careful digital solutions.
“They also must mitigate the risks created by digital ecosystems and platforms, such as erosion of freedom of expression and the right to privacy; AI algorithms that exclude vulnerable groups; cybersecurity risks, including data breaches, cyberbullying, hate speech and disinformation.”
Oliveira also highlighted UNESCO’s framework on challenges that come with digitalization adopted by 44 countries.
She said 4,500 judicial operators had been trained in 139 countries on artificial intelligence and the rule of law, who can alert judges to cases that need human input.
Sarah Al-Husseini, head of government affairs and public policy at Google, spoke about her firm’s collaboration with UNESCO to promote and preserve culture.
“Our Google arts and culture not-for-profit works to digitize preservation of cultural sites and documents,” Al-Husseini said.
Google worked on an 11-month project with the government of Mali to digitize more than 40,000 manuscripts.
“With projects like these, we can bring culture and heritage not only to the fingertips of people, but really help drive the preservation globally,” she said.
Al-Husseini also shared initiatives on developing online skills for economic benefits, and to help with reaching a zero-carbon future.
“One of the programs that we’re most proud of is Grow with Google… where we’ve trained over 94 million people globally on digital marketing skills.” said Al-Husseini.
“We aim to operate on carbon-free energy around the clock in our data centers … some of which are coming to the region soon in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait.”
Rob Thurner, founder and CEO of digital transformation consultancy Burn the Sky said that organizations and ministries must focus on “customer experience” and collaboration to succeed.
He praised Saudi platforms, such as Sahaty, Mujaz, Najiz, and Asher, which he said understood their customers and were developed so that they could integrate with other services.
