UNICEF: Accelerating Connectivity

Interview with Chris Fabian, UNICEF

The UN Brief interviewed Chris Fabian, Head of Innovation at UNICEF in New York, to find out more about Giga, an initiative aligned with the recommendations of the United Nations Secretary General High-Level Panel for Digital Cooperation, and its 8 Key Areas of Action. Giga is a partnership between UNICEF and the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), and UNESCO.

Its goal is to map and connect every single primary school in the developing world to the Internet to provide education and opportunity for children in all countries where UNICEF operates. Giga has launched in three regions: Central Asia (in Kazakhstan 10.200 schools have been integrated into Giga’s mapping platform) Sub-Saharan Africa, and Eastern Caribbean.

The global health crisis has sharpened the focus on the need of online tools for education, and high speed Internet connection.

How do we know how much needs to be invested, how many schools are there that do not have broadband access?

How are these endeavors to be…