Workshop on Co-Creating Sustainable Operating Models for Connected Schools in Kenya
Date: 22 March 2023
Time: 9:00-16:30 EAT
Place: Strathmore University, Nairobi, Kenya
The workshop on
Co-creating sustainable operating models for connected schools in Kenya took place on 22 March 2023 at Strathmore University, Nairobi from 9:00 am to 16:30 pm East Africa Time (EAT).
The event brought together government representatives and internet industry representatives to explore different approaches to achieving sustainable school connectivity. It was part of a larger study that aims to assess existing and new/innovative school connectivity models, working with school heads, conducting interviews with stakeholders who are directly involved in and impacted by school connectivity (such as computer teachers, technicians, school boards etc., communities surrounding the schools, companies which may be able to support (MNOs, ISPs, complementary access networks, development partners, among others) and people/organizations that understand the actual situation in those schools), in order to identify connectivity operating models that work. Thus, ensuring the elaboration of solutions for the sustainable funding of internet connectivity that are feasible and tailored to actual needs and contexts.
This work is being carried out with the support of the International Telecommunication Union-UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) partnership in Kenya. The partnership, established in 2021, seeks to promote effective regulation, increase investment, and develop innovative models for expanding digital access and inclusion. The workshop supports the second pillar of the partnership, “Promoting sustainable models to expand school connectivity in underserved communities. Further, the workshop will also contribute to the work of Giga in Kenya. Giga, a global ITU-UNICEF initiative, recognizes the critical importance of connecting every school to the internet and every young person to information, opportunity, and choice. Giga serves as a platform to support governments in their efforts to provide the infrastructure required to ensure digital connectivity to every school and through this to every community, and every citizen. Giga has been investigating models for sustainable connectivity of schools, globally, including self-sufficient community models, in order to optimize funding resources and reduce costs.
