In March 2020, following the outburst of the Covid-19 pandemic, the various measures adopted worldwide by governments have affected over 861 million young men and women and children. Nearly 300 million students were left without schooling (source: UNESCO).
According to the new report published by UNESCO, UNICEF and the World Bank, students in low- and medium-low income countries have already lost nearly 4 months of school since the beginning of the pandemic, as opposed to 6 weeks in high-income countries. The report emphasizes how, notwithstanding the significant efforts fielded by governments, there are great differences in the ability of countries to provide students with efficient learning opportunities. And there are even greater differences within individual countries in the school experience of children and youth that lead to inequality in learning opportunities and educational poverty.
The focus of the tenth edition of the Global Junior Challenge, promoted by the Fondazione Mondo Digitale in collaboration with Centro Studi Erickson, will be the inclusive use of new technology for a universal high-quality education during the emergency period, Objective N.4 of the 2030 Agenda in response to the Covid-19 pandemic.
In 2017, the competition was dedicated to Professor Emeritus Tullio De Mauro (Torre Annunziata 1932 - Rome 2017), who was President of the Fondazione Mondo Digitale for over 10 years. Moreover, the "Tullio De Mauro Award for Innovative and Inclusive Schools" reminds us of his civil commitment as a teacher and aims to promote the precious role of those school administrators and teachers who work, day in and day out, to improve the quality of education for all students.
We are nearly done updating the competition website: www.jc.it. All the information on how to participate in the GJC will be uploaded before the Christmas break.
