Samsung and UNESCO announce first global partnership

Samsung Electronics and UNESCO announced a partnership to give students in the developing world access to better education by putting UNESCO's expertise in the field together with Samsung's Smart School facilities and solutions. The partnership directly supports UNESCO's five major program sectors of Education, Culture, Natural Sciences, Social and Human Sciences, Communication and Information. 

Samsung's Executive Vice President Seok Pil Kim and UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova signed the agreement at the Global Education & Skills Forum. 

Samsung Executive Vice President Seok Pil Kim said, “At Samsung we see education as the lynchpin that enables all nations to realize their potential to build sustainable and robust societies where people can thrive. Samsung and UNESCO's shared vision for education and culture will ensure this partnership meaningfully contributes to communities around the world, and will inspire young people to take charge of their own future.” 

Samsung is committed to contributing to a better global community through varied initiatives including Samsung Schools that bridge the digital gap and create enhanced educational environment, and Tech Institutes that provide vocational training for students and young technicians. Samsung is also providing various educational initiatives such as home schools for children with disabilities in Russia, Smart Schools at French hospitals for children under long-term hospitalizations and Digital Libraries in South East Asia. 

UNESCO’s Mobile Learning initiative seeks to provide education for all by offering smarter ways to support the learning process through mobile devices. The project will enable Samsung and UNESCO to cooperate and make tangible progress in education and will expand further to include culture and sciences. 

UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova stated, “The agreement between UNESCO and Samsung is a shining example of the innovative alliances that are needed to consolidate the foundations of the knowledge societies we need for the 21st century,” adding “It will help us to integrate the extraordinary power and reach of mobile technologies into education systems, and provide quality learning for girls and boys, women and men, wherever they may be.” 

Samsung and UNESCO have already teamed up on several national projects such as Education for Sustainable Development in Vietnam and the Silk Road Online Platform to preserve knowledge about the history of trade routes.