Education for the future is not a future problem
Access for today’s students to learn the skills for 21st century jobs will be critical to change the current trajectory of young people in Latin America going into low-skill, low-wage jobs.
With less than two per cent of school students in Chile achieving advanced levels of digital competence, a critical skillset for jobs in the 21st century, four organizations in Chile are working to transform the education sector.
These projects, supported by the BHP Foundation, focus on providing equitable access to quality education, including a curriculum that helps build the skills needed for jobs of the future.
Collective Effect
Collective Effect is a collaborative alliance, led by Fundación Reimagina and funded by BHP Foundation, which seeks to connect and support organizations that work on the development of effective, innovative and scalable solutions to boost the transformation of the teaching and learning model in Chile.
With a US$3 million competitive fund, Collective Effect will finance at least 10 projects to implement solutions with the potential to positively impact different aspects of the education system, from students and teachers to public policies.
In addition to finance, projects will also be supported to develop a learning system and a collective impact strategy.
Congreso Futuro
Congreso Futuro is one of the most recognized free science dissemination platforms in Latin America. It connects civil society with experts and opinion leaders through talks, conferences, panels, and conversation tables to share and improve knowledge of technology and trends - like Artificial Intelligence - that already having an impact on the skills required to perform a job.
By informing about the opportunities and significant challenges humanity will face -particularly young people-, Congreso Futuro seeks to provide public policies developers a comprehensive view of the governance, planning and ethical concerns that the technology involved in future occupations will present.
This year's activities were held in 16 regions of Chile, with more than 115 exhibitors from 20 countries, 60,000 people attending in person and thousands via streaming.
IdeoDigital
The IdeoDigital project promotes the implementation of Computer Science in the national public education system in Chile to equip students with the skills required to progress in a digital world and prepare for the jobs of the future.
By providing training and content to students, teachers and school systems, this initiative advocates for greater awareness of the skills gap in public school systems and seeks to influence public policy to put digital literacy on the agenda and into school curriculums.
To date, IdeoDigital has developed, curated, translated and distributed content on technology subjects for the four years of secondary education. The materials created are available to all teachers in the country through a platform provided by the Ministry of Education.
Los Creadores
Los Creadores is a school digital talent contest that encourages children and young people to use technology at the service of their community and environment and find innovative solutions to problems that concern them.
More than 500 projects developed by students and their tutors from Chile, Argentina, Colombia and Peru were presented at the 2023 edition. The first place went to a team from the Liceo Manuel Bulnes, in Chile’s central-south area. They created "Hidrofood 7000", a module that combines robotics and hydroponics to automate the food production process. In 2024 the winners will travel to present their idea to the innovation ecosystem in Boston, United States. See 2022 winners' trip to Boston.
Los Creadores is part of the ecosystem of initiatives led by Fundación Kodea, and supported since 2018 by BHP Foundation.
Second Chance Education and Vocational Learning Program
The Second Chance Education (SCE) Programme – Tu oportunidad in Chile – provides a comprehensive solution for women who have not completed their formal education and are in a vulnerable situation in terms of employment and job opportunities.
Through public and private cooperation, SCE develops a sustainable system for women’s empowerment that involves digital literacy, upskilling for employment, formal education, and tools for the development of enterprises.
UN Women and BHP Foundation implement the SCE Programme in six countries including Cameroon, Jordan, India, Mexico, Australia, and Chile with more than 100,000 women enrolled in the empowerment and learning hubs.
