The announcement was made at a Digital Talent Summit co-hosted by Huawei and the Institute for Lifelong Learning (UIL) which serves as the Secretariat of the GAL.

At the Summit, Huawei and the UIL agreed to jointly promote the use of technology to raise literacy.

The two parties also signed a cooperation agreement under which Huawei will fund an expansion of the UIL’s current initiatives to enhance educators’ use of technology in developing countries. Currently, the UIL initiative operates in Bangladesh, Côte d’Ivoire, Egypt, Nigeria, and Pakistan.

Huawei is the first private company to become an associate member of the GAL and the company is excited its own goals align with the GAL’s vision of eradicating digital illiteracy in young people.

David Atchoarena, UIL’s Director explained at the event, “Our rapidly changing world calls for concerted efforts and strong partnerships to achieve quality education and lifelong learning for all.”

Atchoarena continued, “Huawei’s expertise in the area of innovation in learning will be a great asset to the Global Alliance for Literacy. Collaborative projects such as ours will ensure that no one is left behind on this journey.”

Vicky Zhang, Huawei’s own Vice President of Corporate Communications, also commented, “Getting the right education is often the key to success in life. As a major player in the technology sector, Huawei feels it has a responsibility to provide technology skills in all parts of the world, trying our best to include as many people as possible.”

“We are proud to join forces with UNESCO to better deliver on this responsibility,” Zhang added.

Huawei believes digital talent is a key driver in achieving digital transformation, solid economic growth, and better quality of life. Since 2008, Huawei has offered a wide and expanding range of talent programs. Under its Seeds for the Future umbrella, Huawei provides tens of thousands of people every year with scholarships and digital training courses targeting all age groups. The company also organizes and sponsors tech competitions where students can expand their knowledge, win prizes, and make new friends.

So far, Huawei’s Seeds for the Future program has helped nurture more than 2.2 million digital talents in over 150 countries. The company’s ICT Academy can train about 200,000 students each year. In 2021, Huawei announced it had already invested US$150 million and planned invest another US$150 million in digital talent development before 2026, which is expected to benefit an additional 3 million people.

About the Global Alliance for Literacy Since its launch in 2016, the Global Alliance for Literacy has driven international discourse and guided the agenda for literacy provision globally for those who need it most. The alliance includes 30 countries committed to improving youth and adult literacy. It serves as a platform for its members to discuss progress and challenges together, and to exchange knowledge and good practice. 

Companies across every industry are looking to digitalization to improve efficiency, flexibility and productivity in a sustainable way.

Networks are fundamental to this transformation, and Nokia is uniquely positioned with its best-of-breed portfolio across fixed, mobile and cloud networking technologies.

Pekka Lundmark, President and CEO of Nokia, said: “We see the potential of digital to transform business, industry and society with an opportunity for significant gains in productivity, sustainability and accessibility. Our market-leading critical networking technology is increasingly needed by customers and partners in every industry. We see a future where networks go beyond connecting people and things. They’re adaptable, autonomous and consumable. They are networks that sense, think and act, and they maximize the opportunity of digitalization.

“Today we share our updated company and technology strategy with a focus on unleashing the exponential potential of networks – pioneering a future where networks meet cloud. To signal this ambition we are refreshing our brand to reflect who we are today – a B2B technology innovation leader. This is Nokia, but not as the world has seen us before.”