Inequality in Internet access exacerbates the digital and educational gap between developed and developing countries and enhances internal inequalities, enhances exclusion and limits the opportunities for the most vulnerable children. This digital gap has implications at an educational, health, economic and employment level, and also enhances gender inequality.
Convinced of making technology a factor that helps enhance equality by guaranteeing equal access to education and development, the three tiers of government have agreed to install the Giga Technology Centre in Barcelona. The aim is to contribute to boosting global education and reducing exclusion and the digital gap, taking an important step in compliance with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG).
The three tiers of government also share an interest in the approach by Giga to incorporate the private sector in achieving these goals. They trust that this alliance with UNICEF and the ITU will become a catalyst to build the necessary technology to provide Internet access to all schools around the world.
To discuss the progress on the project, the following people met in Barcelona today: Fayaz King, Deputy Executive Director of Field Results and Innovation at UNICEF; Doreen Bogdan-Martin, Director of the Telecommunications Development Office at ITU; Ángeles Moreno Bau, State Secretary for Foreign and Global Affairs; Jordi Puigneró, Vice-President and Councillor for Digital and Territorial Policies at the Regional Government of Catalonia; Victòria Alsina, Councillor for Foreign Action and Open Government of the Regional Government of Catalonia, and Laia Bonet, Third Deputy Mayor for the 2030 Agenda, Digital Transition and International Relations at the City Council of Barcelona.
The agreement provides for the Giga Technology Centre to be located in Ca l'Alier – the headquarters of urban innovation in the city (it hosts the municipal foundation BIT-Habitat - the municipal urban innovation centre) – and the CISCO Co-innovation Centre for the Digital Transformation and the Internet of Things.
The new centre would form part of the rich ICT ecosystem of Barcelona, which includes tech companies and a powerful telecommunications industry, together with universities, research centres and hi-tech institutions.
The installation of the Giga Technology Centre in Barcelona is evidence of the trust of the United Nations system in our public and academic institutions and our companies. This will reinforce Spain’s association with the United Nations system and the commitment by the three tiers of government to multilateralism as the only way to address and resolve global problems, and will make a substantial contribution to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the achievement of SDG 4: to ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote life-long learning opportunities for all.
The State Secretary for Foreign and Global Affairs, Ángeles Moreno Bau, expressed the government’s conviction in the Giga project. “Multilateralism and solidarity are cornerstones of Spanish foreign policy and also of our internal policy. We want to increase the presence of the United Nations in Spain, and Barcelona is the ideal enclave for developing a project that works to achieve accessible digital education for all children”.
Quality and inclusive education is one of the Sustainable Development Goals of the 2030 Agenda, which Spain is fully committed to. To achieve that, it is essential to close the digital gap – a difficulty for many pupils that was clearly evidenced during the pandemic. The joint project with UNICEF and ITU, and with the Regional Government of Catalonia and the City Council of Barcelona, aspires to offer opportunities for boys and girls in a situation of inequality. The State secretary affirmed her commitment and her trust in this learning project, “the new generations deserve access to quality, digital education for one and all”.
“The Giga Technology Centre beds down a first-class technology ecosystem in Barcelona committed to a just digital transition. The City Council is working to close the digital gap in the city; through Giga, we will also contribute to making this a reality in the rest of the world”, claimed Laia Bonet, Deputy Mayor for the 2030 Agenda, the Digital Transition and International Relations of Barcelona City Council. She also stressed the importance of working with Central Government and the Regional Government of Catalonia on this joint commitment, which strengthens the international projection of the city and its economic, technological and social fabric.
The Councillor for Foreign Action and Open Government of the Regional Government of Catalonia, Victòria Alsina, stressed the importance of the multilateral action of the regional government and the collaboration with the United Nations system, in this case with UNICEF and the ITU, which have placed their trust in Catalonia and its digital ecosystem of innovation and entrepreneurship for the installation of its Giga Technology Centre. “This trust is a source of joy, but above all a responsibility for ensuring that everything goes well, with the excellence that characterises us when we project our country, our institutions and our ICT system”, claimed Alsina. The commitment by Giga to reduce exclusion and the digital gap globally is aligned with the priorities of the regional government in the field of education and development cooperation since “we have a major challenge that tests us since, now more than ever, we must not leave anyone behind”. In this regard, the Councillor for Foreign Action of the Regional Government of Catalonia stressed that “foreign action begins at home”.
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