International Day for Digital Learning

Image from UNESCO (2024)

Digital technologies are essential tools for education, supporting classroom learning and facilitating collaboration beyond school among students and educators. As a result, digital competencies have become essential skills for thriving in the modern world. As highlighted in our recent blog post, both the COVID-19 pandemic and advancements in artificial intelligence represent defining moments in recent history, emphasizing the pivotal role digital technologies play in education.

In this context, March 19th, 2025, marks the second edition of the International Day for Digital Learning, launched by UNESCO. This day recognizes how educators and policymakers in low-resource settings leverage digital technologies to create equitable learning experiences. The theme underscores the transformative power of digital access in expanding education, aligning with Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 4: Quality Education for All.

SDG 4: Quality Education and the Role of Digital Technologies

SDG 4 comprises ten targets, each accompanied by specific indicators, which you can explore here. While digital technologies are not explicitly mentioned in any of the targets, they are included as a standalone indicator in Target 4.4: increase the number of people with relevant skills for financial success, as seen below:

Beyond this specific target, digital technologies play a crucial role in achieving many other SDG 4 targets. EdTech, for example, has become a prominent way for individuals worldwide to acquire new knowledge and skills. Popular examples include online learning platforms like Khan Academy and the language-learning app Duolingo, which has over 110 million monthly users. Additionally, many schools use EdTech to enhance the quality of education, making it more equitable and inclusive by supporting personalized learning and AI tutors for students with various learning difficulties and circumstances.

Digital technologies also facilitate free access to education, effectively bridging educational gaps by providing online platforms and virtual classrooms in remote or vulnerable areas. UNESCO highlights many inspirational stories, such as its collaboration with Spacecom to bring education to rural schools in Côte d’Ivoire.

However, did you know that as recently as 2023, 33% of the world remained offline? Many of these offline individuals are children living in vulnerable and low-resource communities with limited access to quality education and learning materials. Even offline, digital technologies can be valuable. For instance, Learning Equality is a nonprofit organization dedicated to expanding access to quality education in underserved communities. It develops offline-first digital learning solutions, such as Kolibri, a platform that provides open educational resources to learners without internet access. By leveraging low-bandwidth and offline technologies, Learning Equality helps schools, refugee camps, and remote areas bridge the digital divide, ensuring equitable education worldwide.

Why Values and Character Building?

The International Day for Digital Learning should not only highlight technology as a learning tool but also promote competencies for using technology responsibly, ethically, and healthily by cultivating agentic digital citizens. As we have explained in our project Power-up: Values at the Heart of Digital Citizenship, digital citizenship is grounded in values guiding our interactions with technology and one another. This aligns with SDG 4’s target on Education for Sustainable Development and Global Citizenship, recognizing that digital transformation is not merely technical but also social—one in which children and youth play central roles in shaping its direction. To truly empower the next generation, digital solutions must foster lifelong learning and transversal skills. We should not be passive users of technology but agents of change. As such, developing critical thinking, a strong sense of purpose, and values prioritizing unity and fellowship is essential to ensure digital transformation serves the collective good.

Similarly, digital citizenship education offers a powerful avenue for understanding our roles in the global community. It connects people across different cultures and geographies, enables social action and advocacy, and embodies the true interconnectedness of our world.

With this, we wish everyone a happy International Day for Digital Learning! Let’s celebrate the countless opportunities digital technology offers and reflect on the skills we must continue to develop to fully harness its benefits.

Written by: Power-Up Team - Gwendolyn Philbrow Blaga