1. Concluding remarks SYMPOSIUM
Ms Patience Stephens
Special Advisor on Education
UN Women
Mr David Atchoarena
Director
Division for Policies and Lifelong Learning Systems
UNESCO

2. Gender equality in Education
An unfinished business
Significant progress since 2000
But gender gaps persists. Not only an issue for developing countries; a global issue

3. Mobile Penetration Offers Opportunities for Education
Barcelona is an important hub for hosting significant conferences and initiatives on technology in education:
Mobile World Congress in Barcelona
Barcelona is of course the host city of the Mobile World Congress (next one in March 2015). Moreover, the mSchools movement was born in Barcelona.
The mSchools initiative:
The aim of the mSchools initiative in the Mobile World Capital is to fuel the academic ecosystem, enhance learning outcomes and embrace mobile technologies as an opportunity for change. The programme brings together public and private institutions in support of the mSchools initiative, opening up new ways of teaching and learning that improve achievement and employability.
UNESCO Mobile Learning Programme
- Mobile Learning Week
- Mobile Learning Publications
With an estimated 6.9 billion mobile phone subscriptions worldwide, there are literally billions of potential mobile readers in the world (GSMA, 2014)
Recent data from the United Nations indicate that of the estimated 7 billion people on Earth, over 6 billion now have access to a working mobile phone. To put this number in perspective, only 4.5 billion people have access to a toilet (United Nations, 2013)

4. What mobile technology can offer
Ubiquity
Mobility
Affordability
If you don’t believe me here’s a roundup of recent headlines. (that demonstrates the fast growth of mobile learning)

5. How can mobile learning help improve
Access
Skills development
Literacy
Gender responsive content and pedagogy ?

6. Access
Affordability: use low cost devices and SMS delivered content, promote PPP and inter-Ministerial cooperation (infrastructure development, cost of communication)
Capacity development: abilities and engagement in the design and use of technology
Special attention to rural areas
Access to technology, via TVET, as a tool for women’s empowerment
Policy is key (UNESCO’s guidelines for mobile learning )
Advocacy and partnerships

7. Skills development Mobile learning increases the motivation to learn
consider studies and careers in STEM
Providing skills for life and work
technology can enable girls and women express their views and share knowledge to improve their daily lives on topics such as health, agriculture and other sustainable development issues
Enhancing the employability of women
Skills for entrepreneurship a strategic way to empowerment
Integrated services: skills, career guidance, access to credit…
Opening up new LLL pathways and oportunities
Teachers need to be supported in order to become digitally competent and ‘true’ mentors

8. Literacy Capitalize on women’s needs and imperatives
Skills relevant for the community
From functional literacy to literacy for empowerment
Targeting (parents, the community)
Promoting decentralized solutions

9. Literacy (ctd.)
Involving women in developing the technology (designing the devices, developing the applications and the content)
Mobility: appropriate for flexible learning and adult learning
Fostering connectivity to peers and local communities
Scaling up literacy programmes

10. Gender Sensitive Content
Content matters ! (shaping the mind of learners)
Need to change the balance of gender in education resources
From addressing « things girls like» to «things» that challenge the traditional stereotypes
Mobile technology increases the richness of content (multimedia)

11. Gender Sensitive Pedagogy
Facilitate project based learning, game based learning
Combining social media with academic sources
Gender sensitive teaching, privacy concerns
Access, skills development, literacy need to be provided to progress towards gender sensitive content and pedagogy

12. Towards women’s empowerment
Technology
EDUCATION
Skills Knowledge
Recognition/power

13. The way forward A MLW portal?
The policy environment (Technology, education, financing)
Monitoring, Evaluation and Research
MLW findings as a foundation for further debate in other fora (NY)
DARE (Development Abilities Resources Environment)