WEST BANK, PALESTINE: Meta on Wednesday announced the launch of its online literacy flagship program, My Digital World, in Palestine.
The program will be implemented in partnership with the Center for Continuing Education at Birzeit University and the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees in the Near East.
My Digital World provides youth with the skills to navigate digital spaces safely and responsibly, while benefiting from the resources offered by an increasingly digital world.
Mohammad Salameh, deputy chief of the UNRWA education program, said that students will be taught to maintain their digital security on one hand and develop competencies that “help them interact with their surroundings positively” on the other.
Meta’s partnership with the Birzeit University Center for Continuing Education builds on the center’s expertise in introducing interactive learning approaches to schools across the West Bank.
The company will train up to 100 UNRWA and private school teachers, and reach up to 15,000 students in seventh, eighth and the ninth grades across private and UNRWA schools.
“A generation of digitally savvy youth is defining the future of the MENA region,” said Joelle Awwad, head of policy programs at Meta.
“At Meta, we believe that online safety is fundamental to that progress. My Digital World is our commitment to achieve this.”
She said that Meta is committed to “the creation of an ecosystem where everyone, especially the younger generation, is capable of protecting themselves from potential risks.”
Awwad added: “Our success as a global community hinges on effective partnerships that widen reach and deepen impact. By placing our experience and digital literacy resources at the disposal of the region’s educators and trainers, we help them to guide youth with the vital information, behaviors and skills to thrive safely and responsibly in an increasingly connected digital world.”
Osama Mimi, director of the Center for Continuing Education at Birzeit University, said: “Everyone has the right to equal access to knowledge and learning.”
He said that that the internet is key in the adoption of educational innovations, and “children must be provided with the means to access appropriate information independently in a digital safe environment in order to learn about any particular curriculum area.”
Mimi said that new digital ways of learning have become an essential requirement for children to excel in this digital world.
The center “is placing a significant effort and emphasis on digital safety in partnership with Meta and UNRWA that will lead to sustainable, scalable and a safe digital educational ecosystem that works for the MENA region,” he added.
