Background

The COVID Education Alliance (COVIDEA) was created in response to one of the most important shortfalls in our society laid bare by the COVID-19 pandemic: the educational system(s) is/are not fully adapted to the digital transformations nor equipped to respond to external shocks. The purpose of this initiative is to address the shortcomings of the current education systems made evident by the COVID-19 pandemic and to help those systems adapt to the requirements of a rapidly changing world.

Education communities around the world are working, hand-in-hand, with the technology/engineering communities to devise new curricula and digital solutions adapted to the new conditions. However, it is unclear whether the digital tools and technological options that are being developed are affordable and accessible, nor whether they are targeted to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

By gathering together education and technology experts from all around the world, COVIDEA, an international alliance co-convened by FOGGS and the Platform for Transformative Technologies (P4TT) with the help of the International Science Council, seeks to respond to those questions by creating a platform that gathers, “under one roof,” the best digital educational tools, curricula and technological options available to assist education systems and institutions in adapting to the constraints posed by the pandemic. The initiative also seeks to select the options that are best targeted to the achievement of the SDGs by taking into account considerations such as gender and racial bias, inequality and human rights perspectives, among others. Once identified, these resources should be directed towards processes and initiatives that could potentially have the greatest impact in terms of increasing society’s overall resilience to external shocks and future crises by developing competencies such as adaptability, critical thinking and collaboration, among others.

While digital technology undoubtedly enables communication, collaboration and online education, a more permanent shift to remote learning could exacerbate inequalities if adequate digital tools and technological options are not affordable or easily accessible. The COVIDEA transformative platform aims to make these tools and technological alternatives more accessible within an ethical framework to ensure that they do not undermine the rights to privacy, education and freedom of expression and self-determination of peoples and individuals.