Imaginable Futures and UNICEF present Learning to Overcome, a podcast series that features discussions with educators, innovators and entrepreneurs on strategies for ensuring equitable access to quality remote learning and supporting students’ well-being through the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond. During its peak, around 1.5 billion children and young people—or 91% of students worldwide—had been impacted by COVID-19. As the pandemic continues, schools around the world have had to delay opening this fall or implement a remote learning strategy. This abrupt shift has disrupted learning and upended lives, especially among the most vulnerable and marginalized communities. Still, real-time responses during and after COVID-19 can provide catalytic opportunities to take a collective leap forward towards providing more inclusive and equitable quality education for all children. This time also unearths challenges we need to overcome to ensure children can continue learning.
We're joined by Robert Jenkins, Chief of Education at the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), and Leslee Udwin, Founder and CEO of Think Equal, to discuss how we can support students' mental well-being and nurture social emotional development during this global pandemic. Students around the world are facing increased mental health challenges as they continue to deal with isolation related to the lack of structure, routine and connection to community, as well as the stress of the economic fallout of COVID-19 felt by households everywhere. While many educators are focusing on getting the academics right with online learning, equally important is social-emotional learning across all age groups.
We speak with Sal Khan, Founder and CEO of Khan Academy, and Iman Lipumba, Head of Marketing and Communications at Ubongo, who share their thoughts on how to facilitate learning opportunities across borders, and what anytime and anyplace learning looks like. As learning across the world relies more and more on access to expensive devices and internet connectivity, the education divide deepens. Global, large-scale efforts to use technology in support of remote learning and distance education are emerging and evolving quickly. During COVID-19 and beyond, it is essential to leverage technology that will enable high quality, flexible learning pathways that place equity at its core.
We share a conversation with Wendy Kopp, CEO and Co-founder of Teach For All, and Dr. Joan Osa Oviawe, from EdoBEST in Nigeria, about their experiences and ideas on how best to manage and ensure at-scale education response and recovery interventions. Educators, leaders, and parents globally have the responsibility of what seems like an impossible task: To replicate the functions of school for months without a physical classroom or playground. The importance of local leadership from educators as well as innovation around learning with a focus on equity is paramount. In this episode, we talk to two education leaders about their experience and ideas on how best to manage and ensure at-scale education response and recovery interventions.
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