Editor’s Note: Since this article was published reports of sexual abuse and mismanagement within the More Than Me organization have come to light. Global Citizen champions gender equality and girls’ education, fights against sexual violence in all forms, and supports survivors of such abuses.
The World Economic Forum (WEF) wrapped up its Annual Meeting in Davos, Switzerland - a mountain resort in the Swiss Alps - on Saturday, January 23. Founded in 1971, by Klaus Schwab, as a nonprofit organization intended to bring together European and American business for collaboration, the WEF quickly expanded its focus from management to the pressing economic and social issues facing the global population. It has been seen as a neutral space where global challenges could be addressed like the South African Apartheid and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
The meeting in Davos includes some 2,500 attendees, including the CEOs of the world’s top 1,000 companies who fund the forum. This year’s theme was “Mastering the 4th Industrial Revolution.”
If you’re like me, you may have read this and been perplexed: what do you mean fourth? Davos categorizes the fourth revolution as cyber-physical systems.
But what are cyber-physical systems, you might ask?
The simplest way to describe what the WEF means by cyber-physical systems is to look around you. Chances are, wherever you are, you have a cell phone. You’re reading this from a computer. That computer has access to the internet, and the internet connects all of us. Using that internet, you can learn a bit about the other cyber-physical systems such as artificial intelligence, robotics, 3-D printing, nanotechnology and beyond with your unprecedented and unlimited access to knowledge. All of these technological advances are expanding and evolving at an exponential pace, affecting not only international economies and labor markets but politics, health care, and - of course! - education.
How does this relate to girls education?
Thousands of miles away, in developing countries, far from the snow covered mountain ranges of the Swiss Alps, the education of millions of girls will be impacted by this annual meeting and talks of cyber-physical realms.
3,000 miles away, in Monrovia, Liberia, More Than Me (MTM) runs the tuition-free More Than Me Academy (MTMA) for over 150 girls from the West Point slum and central Monrovia. And these system have the profound potential to effect not only them, but to also improve the quality of life for millions.
It's easy to see that the advent on the 4th Industrial Revolution (like these technologial advances) is shifting our world. It's also easy to wonder how our lives might change for better or for worse as a result of these new technologies.
More importantly, these advances must be available to both men and women. With the current estimate, gender parity won’t be reached until 2133 and with Liberia’s ranking at a disappointing 112 out of 145 countries on the gender gap index, it’s even more critical that our girls are set up for success. As UK Development Secretary Justine Greening said at Davos this year, “no country can truly develop if half of its population is left behind.”
Ensuring our girls have a solid footing in the 4th revolution
MTM is committed not only to providing our girls with an education, but also to providing them with the resources and auxiliary services they need to break down every barrier they face to education. 100% of our students in 4th through 6th grades receive a computer education, whereas 95% of comparison students have never used a computer. Our MTM Academy library affords our girls computer access and internet connectivity whereas only one comparison school offers computer access.
In 2015, we launched a blended learning curriculum using a grant from a generous donor. Working with experts from Intel Education to develop a pilot education technology program, we’ve started integrating technology into our Academy through servers and IT training. We also brought on Edmodo as a partner and an online resource for our teachers who now have access to lesson plans and teaching supplements for their tablet based learning and assessments that are curated and uploaded by 59 million educators and administrators worldwide.
This is just the beginning of an enduring fidelity that More Than Me has to guaranteeing our students at the MTM Academy are ready - not just for what Liberia might hold for them, but for what the world holds for them. This increases both their chance and their country’s chance of success.
To do this, a standard education simply isn’t enough; technology is key. MTM is dedicated to making sure our girls are prepared for the world at large - the same world that thousands of delegates at Davos spoke about last week - and we’re just getting started.
Bring it on, revolution #4 - our girls are ready for you!
This article was contributed by Lindsay Randall in support of More Than Me.