| Dear readers, The issue of the digital divide in ICT in Education persists in many contexts and often exacerbates already existing socio-economic inequalities. The Incheon Declaration highlights the urgent need for promoting lifelong learning and education that leaves no one behind, focusing on equity and inclusion, as well as quality. Moreover, the Qingdao Declaration states that relevant and responsive digital learning environments should be in place in order to utilize ICT in diverse ways, providing various learning pathways for all. In fact, ICT can be an enabler for lifelong learning for all by providing diverse paths if only ICT is equally available for all. In this regard, this month's newsletter issue focuses on digital equity – pressing issues, challenges and recent efforts to mitigate the digital divide in the Asia-Pacific region. We hope you enjoy reading this edition! Please let us know if you have any comments or suggestions. | |  © Flickr/Got Credit
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Highlights:
 Digital Equity as an Imperative for the ICT Ecosystem (by UNESCO Bangkok, ICT in Education)
This article underlines the urgency and attention required to address the grand challenge of the digital inequality persisting throughout the world, most often in developing countries, in order to unleash the full potential of ICT and education.
Digital Divides and Equity (by Thérèse Laferrière, Miri Shonfeld, and Paul Resta)
This article, based on the work of the Thematic Working Group 4 for EDUsummIT 2015, provides a quick review of the technological developments and their influence on the sphere of education and digital inequality. Furthermore, it provides the essential conditions for technology-based learning in reference to which this Thematic Group had compiled eleven short case studies on the theme of 'Addressing Gaps and Promoting Educational Equity'. Programmes and Projects:
 National Workshop on Supporting Competency-based Teacher Training Reforms to Facilitate ICT-Pedagogy Integration in the Philippines (21-22 July 2015, Quezon City, Philippines)
This workshop was organized by UNESCO Bangkok, CHED and SEAMEO INNOTECH, bringing together officials, ICT experts, representatives from the Department of Education and TEIs in order to build on and improve the existing ICT competencies.
 National Workshop held by UNESCO and NCED on ICT Competency Development in Education (31 July-2 August 2015, Godavari, Nepal)
This national workshop organized by UNESCO and the National Center for Educational Development (NCED) involved policy makers, teachers and experts to engage in discussions and participate in sessions to identify approaches towards developing competency standards and performance indicators for ICT in Education.
Access to ICT in remote communities: The eBilim Mobile Digital Library Project, Naryn, Kyrgyz Republic
This article provides an overview of the project conducted by the University of Central Asia in the pursuit of minimizing the rural-urban digital and knowledge gap. A refurbished minibus equipped with educational resources and a digital database reaches 15 remote communities in the Naryn province of the Kyrgyz Republic. News and Events:
 EDUsummIT 2015 (14-15 September 2015, Bangkok, Thailand)
This event, organized in association with prominent international and national organizations, gathers researchers, policy-makers and educators in supporting the effective integration of Information Technology in education.
The OECD-Singapore Conference on Higher Education Futures (14-15 October 2015, Singapore)
The event will focus on higher education, the rise of higher education in Asia, challenges to traditional modes of education, and how higher education can stay relevant in the face of resource challenges. The Conference will bring together some 500 participants from over 40 countries. In addition to the main event, there are satellite events on 13 and 16 October and post-conference activities on 16 October. 5th Annual International Conference on Education and e-Learning (Bangkok, Thailand, 14-15 September 2015)
This conference aims to explore more flexible and accessible modes of education to bridge the gap of learning across borders by exploring the potential of e-learning. #PurpleMySchool Campaign
Is your school Purple? Go Purple to support safe spaces for LGBTI students across Asia & the Pacific. UNESCO Bangkok, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and Being LGBTI in Asia encourage students, teachers, and parents to join the #PurpleMySchool campaign aimed at creating safe spaces for LGBTI youth in educational settings throughout the region. People can show their support for LGBTI learners by wearing, doing, or making something purple. Photos can be uploaded to our Facebook page and website. Resources:
 Global Libraries: Opening a World of Information and Opportunities
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Global Libraries programme aims to provide the 1 billion "information-poor" people with free access to computers and the Internet by locating public libraries at the centre of communities. The programme also helps public libraries around the world define local needs and training for librarians.
The Intel Computer Clubhouse Network
This is an after-school learning programme that enables youth in underserved communities to access the latest technology and work with adult mentors to experience professional hardware and software, develop technical fluency, and build skills. The Digital Literacy "Best Practices"
This site provides resources about best practices on how to improve and disseminate successful approaches and practices about digital literacy. New Publications:
 Country Case Studies on Promising EFA Practices in the Asia-Pacific Region
In light of the 2015 deadline for the Education for All (EFA) goals, Asia-Pacific countries, such as Bangladesh, Cambodia, India, Indonesia and the Philippines share their achievements, enabling factors, challenges, promising practices as well as sustainability aspects.
The Economic Cost of Out-of-School Children in Southeast Asia
This publication targets out-of-school children and looks at the benefits of primary education to help education policy makers understand the significant economic incentives of including these populations in the seven Southeast Asian countries. ICT Facts & Figures 2015
This ITU factsheet provides information on the remaining ICT gaps, achievements in the past 15 years, the digital divide for 2015, and more.
Next Issue: The September issue will focus on the theme of Cyber Wellness (promoting children's safe, effective and responsible use of ICT). If our readers are interested in contributing to this edition, please do not hesitate to contact us.
Contact/Feedback: : ict.bgk@unesco.org ICT in Education website: http://www.unescokk.org/education/ict View previous newsletters: http://www.unescobkk.org/education/ict/enewsletter | ICT in Education Fanpage | ICT in Education on Twitter | | 
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