Supported digital learning in UN Women's Second Chance Education program
The SCE program targets marginalized, disadvantaged women who have been unable to complete their education because of poverty, conflict, cultural norms or other factors. They face huge barriers in resuming education or training through either conventional means or digital learning opportunities. The barriers to the latter are well-known and include lack of devices, connectivity, digital skills, digital confidence, and time. SCE partners design practical solutions at the local level to the challenges of digital learning for this target group, grounded in the global principles of inclusivity and empowerment. Their experiences during Covid-19 restrictions, which in many countries involved rapidly adapting their learning and teaching systems to a wholly online modality, served to highlight the practices that were instrumental in retaining and engaging women in the digital learning program. When our SCE empowerment hubs were able to reopen, the focus remained on blended learning, a combination of face to face and digital tools and training, enabling flexibility for facilitators and learners alike.
