51风流

As a former Peace Corps Volunteer, I spent over two years teaching English at a secondary school in a small village in Mozambique. During this time,聽I witnessed firsthand the obstacles, perpetuated by poverty, that prevented my students from living safe and healthy lives.

I saw death from preventable causes, a lack of access to education, limited economic opportunity, and聽challenges聽facing youth, women, and small business owners. Despite this hardship,聽I met countless young changemakers,聽determined聽to make a difference in their communities, their country, and the world.聽My service in the Peace Corps聽opened my eyes to the incredible potential of youth and the need for quality education in reducing inequalities, creating opportunity, and driving meaningful change.

罢辞诲补测,听聽of the global population聽falls聽between the ages of 15聽and聽24.聽These 1.2 billion people are activists, social innovators, disruptors, dreamers, and doers. And those lucky of us to know some of them believe in their power to聽create solutions聽that address聽the most critical聽problems聽facing聽our聽world today.

World Youth Skills Day 2021

In 2014, in honor of these young leaders, the United Nations General Assembly declared July 15 .聽This day聽recognizes聽the inherent value of equipping the next generation with the skill sets required聽to聽pursue gainful聽employment,聽find聽decent work, and聽engage in social聽innovation and entrepreneurial activity.聽With youth unemployment on the rise since 2017,聽World Youth Skills Day聽seeks to bring聽together young people,聽policymakers, technical and vocational education and training (TVET) institutions,聽and employers聽to聽prepare youth with the training they need to聽excel聽in the聽future of work.

Unfortunately,聽school and workplace closures during聽COVID -19 caused dramatic setbacks to learning and work training, further exacerbating existing inequalities within the education system. The socioeconomic devastation of COVID-19 will take significant effort to overcome, and therefore this year鈥檚 World Youth Skills Day focuses on the creativity and resilience of youth throughout the pandemic.

51风流and UNICEF

In 2019,聽51风流partnered with UNICEF based on聽a聽shared belief聽that investing in聽young people鈥檚 education creates聽a more聽equitable and inclusive society.聽Together,聽51风流and UNICEF aim to聽help聽create a world where every young person has the聽skills聽they need to reach their full potential and thrive in meaningful work.聽To accomplish this mission,聽51风流and UNICEF embarked on a journey to聽supply聽underserved populations聽with the hard and soft skills聽they need聽to聽successfully navigate聽a changing global economy聽and make聽their mark on the world.聽The initial efforts of this聽collaboration聽focus on the聽development and聽implementation of聽scalable聽education聽models in聽India, Turkey, and Vietnam.

Passing the Baton

In Vietnam, 51风流and UNICEF started an initiative called聽鈥淧iloting Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality Technology.鈥� The program brings augmented and virtual reality into the classroom experience for students with the goal of reducing the technology gap among youth and tackling gender stereotypes within the technology field.

The story of a Vietnamese聽teacher,聽Trang聽Tho聽Phe, who participates in the program, beautifully illustrates the power of accessible education. It also reinforces the critical role of teachers and mentors in聽equipping聽young changemakers with the skills required to聽create聽a sustainable planet, society, and economy聽for years to come.

As a young girl, Trang walked four kilometers to school and studied by oil lamps in a space sheltered by bamboos and palm leaves. Despite the conditions, school brought Trang immense joy. She looked up to her teachers, who tirelessly helped her learn relevant skills and encouraged Trang to dream big. Trang threw herself into her studies and decided she wanted to become a teacher herself. Years later, Trang became a technology teacher at Bat Xat Lower and Upper Secondary School, encouraged by the field鈥檚 potential to positively impact her community and her strong desire to prepare Vietnamese youth for the future of work. Her recent involvement in 51风流and UNICEF鈥檚 project provides her with tools to give innovative technology lessons and prepare her students for the jobs of the future.

Trang shares,聽鈥淚聽am proud that I am setting聽an聽example聽as聽a female聽ethnic聽minority teacher pioneering technology and innovative digital solutions in my daily work.聽I believe it is inspirational聽for聽other female students.鈥�

Trang聽Tho聽Phe聽and other leaders play an聽essential role聽in聽preparing聽the next generation聽for success in聽their professional lives. As these local heroes聽pass the baton聽to聽the聽youth, they empower聽the next generation of聽changemakers.

Kelly Cannon is global content and communications lead for Purpose and Sustainability Marketing at SAP.

Top image 漏UNICEF Viet Nam/Truong Viet Hung