24 January 2022
On January 24, 2022 Giga Steering Committee in Kazakhstan held its first meeting. The Committee was established in 2021 following the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between the Ministry of Digital Development, Innovation and Aerospace Industry of the Republic of Kazakhstan, the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF). Chaired by Mr. Ashat Orazbek, the Deputy Minister of Digital Development, Innovation and Aerospace Industry of the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Committee plays a leading role in coordinating the implementation of the project.
The Steering Committee consists of representatives of the Ministry of Digital Development, Innovation and Aerospace Industry, the Ministry of Education and Science, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the National Infocommunication Holding «Zerde», Corporate Fund “International Technopark IT - startups Astana Hub”, ITU Regional Office for CIS and UNICEF Kazakhstan.
During the meeting, the Committee members considered the results of the passing year, namely the connection of 38 rural schools in the Turkestan region to broadband, and discussed the targets for 2022, in particular, monitoring the Internet connection speed in the connected schools, as well as the creation of a safe and reliable digital space for child online protection.
ITU noted that one-third of all Internet users in the world were children, Kazakhstan following the trend, with 85% of children aged 6 to 15 being Internet users. The opportunities offered by the Internet are also fraught with risks. «That is why school connectivity should be accompanied by an increase in knowledge of all Internet users, especially children and youth, about the safe use of information and communication technologies», noted Natalia Mochu, Regional Director, ITU Regional Office for CIS. In 2022 as part of Giga, it was proposed to conduct a review of regulatory and other measures, including by the ICT industry, to create a safe digital space for child online protection, bringing together efforts of ITU and UNICEF. The ITU Child Online Protection Guidelines will form the basis of this review. The Regional Director added: “The Steering Committee is the place where together we can connect every rural school and make these schools hubs to connect rural communities, thereby accelerating the elimination of the existing digital divide."
UNICEF noted that to ensure quality education services, it was also important to strengthen the capacity and digital literacy of teachers. Therefore, in December 2021, teachers from connected schools in the Turkestan region underwent the UNICEF online training on mixed learning. Mixed learning is a combination of traditional forms of classroom learning with elements of digital learning. In February 2022, in cooperation with the Information and Analysis Centre of the Ministry of Education and Science, the pilot project will be launched to monitor and evaluate the quality of Internet services and the real-time speed of the Internet connection. Despite the progress made, children in Kazakhstan still face difficulties. The digital divide still exists between rural and urban children. It is a consequence of slow or non-existent Internet access. This hinders access to educational resources and undermines the quality of education and the development of the child’s potential. I hope that today’s meeting and the decisions taken at it will help to continue to connect schools to the quality Internet in other regions, which will allow to bridge the digital divide and improve the quality of education for every Kazakh child, regardless of where he or she lives», said the representative of UNICEF.
Giga is a global initiative of UNICEF and ITU to connect every school to broadband Internet. In the CIS region, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan have joined the initiative. To date, 1,000 schools have been mapped by GIGA in 41 countries, and 3,200 schools have become partners in the initiative, including 38 rural schools in the Turkestan region of Kazakhstan.
Read more about ITU's work in the region on this topic:
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