Willemstad, Curaçao – As part of the Global Education Coalition launched by UNESCO, for collaboration and exchange to protect the right to education during the unprecedented disruption caused by COVID-19 and beyond, the Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sports of Curaçao, hereafter «MinESCS» and Microsoft signed a Memorandum of Understanding to support Curaçao in its digitalization process of the education system. The Minister of MinESCS, Mr. Steven Croes signed the MOU on behalf of the Government of Curaçao last Tuesday.
The bilateral dialogue between Microsoft and the MinESCS was facilitated by UNESCO’s Global Education Coalition which is a platform for collaboration enabling connectivity to close the digital divide, and assure gender equality in the Caribbean region.
In order to make Curaçao more resilient to natural disasters and make it a true SMART Nation, it is important to look at ways to improve digital literacy and create a tech-savvy population. That means starting at the foundation of society and providing children with the right educational environment and tools to prepare them for a bright future so that everyone can be part of Curaçaos SMART Nation.
With the signing of this MOU the MinESCS seeks to offer equal opportunities for all students in all schools by providing a modern personal e-learning environment for each student and a modern digital management environment for all schools. It is also important to offer an e-learning environment that is secure and always available, regardless of time and place. Having a future workforce geared to up-to-date technology skills and knowledge and a more robust infrastructure for all schools to connect to that meets security and privacy requirements is essential.
To achieve these goals, the MinESCS signed a partnership with Microsoft on behalf of the Government of Curaçao, for the implementation of Microsoft 365 Education for the entire Min ESCS, and all school boards and schools. This project will be executed in collaboration with Inova Solutions and Netpro Group, the strongest trusted Gold partners of Microsoft in the Caribbean region, that empower local communities and businesses by helping them adopt digital transformation.