Extending the reachof Connect to LearnOne of the world’s most pressingglobal challenges is ensuring accessto education, which is a fundamentalhuman right. Despite majorprogress over the past decade,many young people, particularlygirls in developing countries, lackaccess to secondary education.Society loses out, too. Countries witheducated populations have better health,educational, social and economic outcomes.Connect To Learn was conceived toaddress some of the challenges relating tosecondary education access and quality.It is a global education initiative launchedin 2010 by the Earth Institute of ColumbiaUniversity, Millennium Promise andEricsson to scale up access to quality secondaryeducation, in particular for girls, byproviding scholarships and bringing ICT toschools in remote, resource-poor parts ofthe world, over mobile broadband. To datethe initiative is launched in 21 countriesand benefiting some 50,000 students.In support of the SDGsInitiatives such as Connect To Learn canplay a key role in helping achieve futureSustainable Development Goals (SDGs).Proposed SDG 4 (4.1) sets out that “by2030, ensure that all girls and boys completefree, equitable and quality primaryand secondary education leading to relevantand effective learning outcomes.”Ericsson is taking an active role promotingaccess to ICT and broadband in the SDGConnect To LearnNumber of students60,00050,00040,00030,00020,00010,000020112012201343,0502014Estimated2015Source: Connect To Learnprocess, as a member of the UN SustainableDevelopment Solutions Network andthe Broadband Commission on DigitalDevelopment.Scaling up girls’ education in MyanmarEricsson and the UK Department for InternationalDevelopment (DFID) and partnershave joined forces as part of DFID’s Girls’Education Challenge to support girls’ educationin Myanmar (also known as Burma).It aims to improve access to the internet,delivering teacher training and enablingstudents to experience a 21st centuryeducation. The collaboration with the UKgovernment and DFID is Ericsson’s firstpublic-private partnership with a government.Through the unique constellation ofpartners, we believe it is one meaningfulway to bring scale and impact to ConnectTo Learn.In Myanmar, only 54% of secondaryschool-aged children are enrolled in secondaryschool, according to the WorldBank. As the population of Myanmarbegins to enjoy the benefits of mobilecommunications, the intention is thatstudents will not be left behind.Obs! Gjord med columndesign. Prata medEva/Catta/Sanna Connecting om ev more than 30 schoolsfrågor. Leveraging Connect To Learn, the initiativeGör så här: Färglägg will inte allow från more than 30 secondary schoolspaletten. Markera staplar to be med connected vita to the internet throughpilen. Välj Object–Graph–Column.Där väljer man färg mobile och ev tint. broadband, with deployment to theKolla särskilt att “Sliding” schools är valt på set for 2015. Professional developmentprograms for teachers, educa-“Column type”.Type–Options: tional content for students, and childfriendlycomputing solutions to1 stapel: 76% 70%improve2 staplar: 80% 80%Grade nine students in Bhutan, part of a pilot e-learning project “iSchool.”literacy and numeracy among females areamong the aims.Ericsson is working with UNESCO, theEarth Institute at Columbia University, FinjaFive, Qualcomm Incorporated, through itsQualcomm© Wireless Reach initiative,and the external evaluator EduEval todeliver the program.Up to 600 scholarships will also beprovided to marginalized girls. The deploymentsare supported by mobile operatorMyanmar Posts and Telecommunicationsand will benefit 11,000 students in the firsttwo years.Reaching remotest BhutanWe partnered in 2014 with the Governmentof Bhutan, the Ministry of Education andBhutan Telecom to roll out a pilot e-learningproject “iSchool.”Based on Connect To Learn, the projectaims to provide access to qualityeducation to 250 grade nine students atsix schools in remote areas of Bhutan.Ericsson is deploying videoconferenceand commu nications technology; BhutanTelecom will provide high-speed mobilebroadband. If successful, the initiative isplanned to extend to some 200 schools.Extending outreach in Sri LankaIn Sri Lanka, a partnership betweenEricsson, Mobitel and Open Universityof Sri Lanka brings ICT and computer literacyeducation to teenage girls in farmingcommunities in Sri Lanka.44 Ericsson | Sustainability and Corporate Responsibility Report 2014
Launch in Northern GhanaIn Ghana, Connect To Learn is beinglaunched in the Millennium Village in theNorthern Ghana SADA region with mobileoperator Tigo, which will benefit over 7,000students, in four secondary schools. Thiswill build upon Connect To Learn’s girls’scholarship program, which was launchedin SADA in 2013. The launch of Connect ToLearn follows Ericsson’s deployment of a3G network to eight sites in the SADAregion, in cooperation with Tigo.Today over 500,000 people in 12 countriesin sub-Saharan Africa are benefitingfrom connectivity in engagement with theMillennium Villages Project (MVP). Thisconnectivity has made it possible to introduceConnect To Learn as well as otherservices that benefit villagers, for examplewithin health and small businesses development,which is improving livelihoods.Girls in Ghana take advantage of cloud-managed education through Connect To Learn.Current Connect to Learn deploymentsTUNISIAMEXICOCAPEVERDEBHUTANCHINASENEGALINDIABRAZILSRI LANKAMYANMARCHILEBURKINAFASODJIBOUTIUGANDA RWANDA MALAWIThis map covers deployments of Ericsson’s cloud-managedICT solution for education (ongoing and scheduled for firsthalf of 2015) in conjunction with the Connect To Learn andWPDI Initiatives.GHANAETHIOPIASOUTHSUDANKENYATANZANIAEricsson | Sustainability and Corporate Responsibility Report 201445
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