Initiative to Advance Literacy Learning in Morocco Launches - UNESCO

Digital skills are key for literacy teaching in the twenty-first century. However, many literacy educators have limited capacity in using technology for instruction. Locally relevant training in this area is therefore essential.

PARIS - The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) for Lifelong Learning (UIL) and the UNESCO Regional Office for the Maghreb, the Moroccan National Agency for the Fight against Illiteracy (ANLCA), with support from Huawei, hence launched a national initiative to promote quality literacy provision by increasing effective use of technologies in literacy instruction and learning, a press release stated by UNESCO.

‘Literacy is the foundation of lifelong learning and a driver for sustainable and participatory development. In light of the digital transformation, it is essential that literacy instruction leverages the full potential of technology. We are proud to support the Kingdom of Morocco as a member of the UNESCO Global Alliance for Literacy in improving the digital skills of 10,000 literacy teachers by 2025,’ emphasized Isabell Kempf, Director of UIL, during the launch.

The launch of the initiative will be accompanied by a four-day workshop, where literacy experts and educators will join representatives of academia and civil society to adapt the existing training modules for the Moroccan context. Participants are expected to develop general guidelines for contextualizing the training modules in addition to translating the lessons into Arabic and devising an action plan for promoting the new curriculum. The modules will also be integrated into a literacy training course that will be available through the Institute for Training in Literacy Professions (IFMA), a hybrid teaching and training portal developed by ANLCA.

‘By strengthening the digital skills of literacy trainers, we contribute to empowering individuals and fostering sustainable community development. We are committed to working together to ensure that every individual, regardless of their context, has access to quality education that meets the challenges of the current digital era,’ underlined Eric Falt, Director of the UNESCO Regional Office for the Maghreb.

By training literacy teachers to use technology effectively and integrating ICT-facilitated learning into its national education programs, Morocco is enhancing the quality of education in the country in line with Sustainable Development Goal 4.

‘ANLCA, aware that the digitalization of literacy programs and training offers new opportunities for learning and for the socio-professional inclusion of individuals, has since 2017 promoted distance learning, for example by developing mobile applications based on existing literacy programs and by establishing the Institute for Training in Literacy Professions. Morocco’s participation in this GEC–GAL initiative will reinforce these efforts and will accelerate the production of a set of generic digital skills training modules for literacy trainers in synergy with the Moroccan context and IFMA standards,’ emphasized ANCLA Director Mr. Abdelouadoud Kharbouch. 

This project is part of an initiative to improve the digital competencies of literacy educators worldwide, which was developed by GAL in partnership with the multisectoral Global Education Coalition (GEC). 

‘We designed Huawei’s Seeds for the Future program to be open and inclusive, and we would love to see the same spirit in the Literacy Educator Training program led and promoted by the UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning, which wisely uses digital technologies to amplify education resources,’ explained Vicky Zhang, Vice President of Corporate Communications of Huawei.