Meta launches an education platform, above what anyone could have imagined!
Mark Zuckerberg announced the launch of the 2021 version of his digital literacy program just weeks after renaming his shared online 3D virtual space Meta or rather the “Meta-verse.” The literacy program ‘My Digital World’ was originally launched in June 2020, but with the shift into the metaverse, now looked like the ideal time to deploy, expand, and enhance it.
The new websites feature content that is relevant to today’s realities in Sub-Saharan Africa, from Nigeria to Zambia. It contains modules and training tools for teachers to use in providing information and skills to their students (ages 13 to 18 years old) in order for them to adapt to the ever-increasingly interconnected and digitally complicated environment. The curriculum is geared toward pupils who live in technologically challenged communities.
“The lessons help participants learn tangible skills such as protecting personal information, identifying reputable sources, understanding misinformation themes, and recognising healthy online relationships.”
Phil Oduor, policy programs manager for economic impact and digital literacy at Meta.
Thousands of African pupils have benefited from this approach in recent years through existing programs such as the ‘Ilizwe Lam’ program in South Africa and many others in other African countries. The future of learning is digital, and Meta has done a fantastic job of empowering Africa’s future leaders, our youth.
Meta has been labeled “the internet’s future,” and with empowered African youth as the future’s leading minds, it’s a future we’re excited to be a part of.