ProFuturo, the great digital education project for underprivileged children and adolescents sponsored by the Telefónica Foundation and the “la Caixa” Banking Foundation through their presidents, César Alierta and Isidro Fainè, has already brought education to two million boys, girls, and adolescents in Latin America and Africa.
This education and training program, whose goal is to continue working to help ten million children in the next five years, will be presented globally this weekend during the interfaith meet up “Thirst for peace: dialogue between religions and cultures ” which is expected to gather 3,000 people in the city of Assisi.
The event, which will include the participation of 400 religious leaders from all beliefs around the world, will commemorate the 30th anniversary of the historical Day of Prayer for Peace which took place on October 27, 1986 and was led by Pope Saint John Paul II. In addition to the 3,000 attendees, 12,000 pilgrims are expected to arrive in Assisi in the next few days.
Subjects related to peace, inequalities, and the challenges society is currently facing will be discussed before an audience of heads and representatives from Christian Churches, Ecclesiastical Communities, and other different religions. Education is a key subject and the Chairman of the Telefónica Foundation, César Alierta, will have the opportunity to present the goals and challenges of ProFuturo, thus extending the project to the largest religious congregation in the world.
This is the first time a private and open initiative is presented to other institutions in an encounter of these characteristics, constituting a very relevant milestone.
ProFuturo is the continuation and reinforcement of the historical commitment that Telefónica and la Caixa made to education through technology and innovation. Its goal is to promote equal opportunities through quality and fair education using locally deployed digital tools. According to information from the United Nations there are more than 50 million girls and boys around the world without education.
ProFuturo broadens the impact of the large footprint already made by Proniño by not only taking its digital solutions to Latin America, but also including countries in sub-Saharan Africa and Asia. Since 2015 there has been a pilot program in Angola, specifically in the province of Luena, that has shown very positive results. This project, executed with the collaboration of the local Angolan bishopric, is being developed in nine schools, directly benefiting 60 teachers and the literacy of 2,700 girls and boys and adults.
For each deployment ProFuturo reaches agreements with the most relevant agents in the field of international cooperation: private, public, and third sector. In fact, conversations are already being held to expand the number of partners with the same goals and concerns.
ProFuturo is flourishing within a proven and successful model through different initiatives such as Proniño or Telefónica Foundation Classrooms. These initiatives are present in every country in Latin America where the company is present, training nearly 30,000 teachers, and having an impact on 610,000 children from more than one thousand schools.
In addition to his presentation during the inaugural day, César Alierta will participate again during the Assisi Summit’s second day when he will be part of a round table discussion entitled “Economy and Inequality”. During this discussion he will be accompanied by representatives from the FAO, the Social Sciences Pontifical Academy and different international think tanks.
Note to Editors:
In July 2016, Telefónica and Spanish national bank La Caixa’s respective Foundations that exist to promote social good and wellbeing across the globe, signed an agreement for the joint development of ProFuture – an initiative with foundation status aimed at driving equal opportunities through the provision of quality and equitable education programmes based on the use of digital tools. To achieve these goals, the project will focus on the following activities: The introduction of a mobile digital classroom, equipped with both hardware (a case containing a laptop-server, a varying number of tablets and a projector) and software (educational platform and content) at schools located in vulnerable areas. This resource is self-powered for a whole school day, and the educational platform works without the need for Internet connection. All that is required is occasional connection with Internet in order to update content. Training teachers in the use of information technologies, the educational platform and its content, and in innovative teaching methods. Designing a model adapted to real circumstances in refugee camps. Ensuring the accessibility of the content and the platform to people with disabilities.
Noticias de Telefónica