Intel
organized an interesting panel discussion on how women can benefit
from technology and use the internet to become more independent and
resourceful. It was hosted by their PR & Marketing Manager Asma
Aziz.
The
panel had notable women from different areas of expertise,i.e. beauty
industry, content marketing/advertising, PR and the social sector.
The women shared their views on how they have successfully
incorporated technology into their respective business models. While
almost all of them are commendable in their efforts, the story which
particularly fascinated me was how technology can be used in the
social sector, since this is an issue which is very close to my
heart.
It
was very refreshing to hear Shazia Mirza from Manzil Foundation
discussing how she managed to find a way to use technology to revamp
her classrooms and connect them with the outside world. The school
which she is running is in one of the slums of Karachi and mostly has
students from the underprivileged class.
The
dilemma of our education system is that the public schools have
lowered their standards to such an extent that their students can in
no way compete with students from private schools. As a result the
inequality and societal gap is increasing alarmingly. To top it off,
girls are specially ignored when it comes to good education and
vocational training programs.
Shazia
realized this gap in the first year of running her school. after a
lot of thought and research she decided to use the internet to
connect her classrooms with learned teachers from all parts of the
world. Screens were installed in classrooms and teachers were
connected to their classes via Skype. This rather small investment
made a huge difference in children. They were more knowledgeable, and
confident with a lot of clarity in their thoughts. This small
experiment is a proof that we can actually incorporate technology to
uplift our education system without investing a fortune.
A mix
of good talent and information technology can be the driving force in
changing the education system and increasing literacy rate in
Pakistan. A spirit of volunteering should be encouraged among
professionals. This can be achieved either through a forum where
professionals from various backgrounds can come together and work on
small projects or they can enroll themselves for individual programs
related to teaching, training or streamlining the education process
in public schools.
Intel
has already introduced programs targeted towards developing digital
literacy skills in young girls with their “She Will Connect”
program, along with the Diversity in Technology initiative to
increase women representation at Intel. The program details can be
viewed at their facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/IntelPakistan
