At a strategic session, UNDP and the Ukrainian Library Association initiate the preparation of guiding materials for the development of Digital Education Hubs all over the country

Kyiv, 5 November 2021 – More than 20 representatives of libraries from all over the country at a three-day strategic session held in Kyiv discussed the preparation of guiding materials for the further transformation of libraries into Digital Education Hubs. The discussions took place during the “Development of Libraries as Digital Education Hubs” strategic session, which was organised by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Ukrainian Library Association.

The work done at the strategic session will form the basis for the preparation of a training course and/or a handbook on strengthening the capacity of libraries to become Digital Education Hubs.

Over the three days, the participants discussed the possible content and structure of such a guide/course for libraries striving to create a Digital Education Hub. They also shared their own experiences of digital transformation and visited two Hubs in Kyiv.

Deputy Minister of Digital Transformation for European Integration Valeria Ionan in her online welcoming remarks stressed that more than 2.7 million Ukrainians have already used the online platform Diia.Digital Education over the year-and-a-half of its existence. More than 800,000 citizens have started studying on the platform, and another 200,000 are studying on the All-Ukrainian Online School platform. To date, more than 6,000 institutions across the country have joined in the project and become official Digital Education Hubs.

“None of this would be possible without the involvement and daily work of the Digital Education Hubs,” Ionan said, thanking the representatives of libraries and Hubs for their work on improving the digital literacy of citizens. “You help teach people digital literacy and prove every day that it is a necessity that makes life easier,” she said.

A lack of the digital skills and tools needed to access the Internet are among the main reasons why people do not use public electronic services, said UNDP Deputy Resident Representative to Ukraine Manal Fouani at the opening of the session. Of those people who did not use any public electronic service last year, these reasons were cited by 22 percent and 17 percent of respondents respectively, according to the results of an unpublished sociological study conducted by UNDP in September 2021.

“The digital skills gap is a crucial problem, as its existence creates inequality,” Fouani said. “UNDP is working with the government of Ukraine to make new public electronic services accessible to all, including those from the most vulnerable groups. We need to make sure that everyone has access to and understand how to use existing digital solutions.”

“Libraries and librarians play a vital role in this transformation. They can change people’s lives by helping them gain the skills needed for today’s online world. Sharing experience on the creation and work of Digital Education Hubs will help libraries become centres of knowledge and education, including on digital literacy.”

The Ministry of Digital Transformation aims to teach six million Ukrainians digital literacy in three years, said Diia.Digital Education Project Manager Ruslana Korenchuk. She said that Digital Literacy Month started in November. She added that every day the ministry will talk about one of the 30 digital literacy competencies and called on libraries and Digital Education Hubs to join in the initiative.

The strategic session was initiated by the “Digital, Inclusive, Accessible: Support to Digitalisation of Public Services in Ukraine Project” (DIA Support Project), which is implemented by UNDP in Ukraine with financial support from the government of Sweden, and by the Ukrainian Library Association in partnership with the Ministry of Digital Transformation.

Background information

The DIA Support Project, launched in 2021, aims to bridge the digital divide between generations and different social groups. Its main goal is to increase the accessibility of new digital solutions so that every man and woman in the country can use public electronic services and no one is left behind. Learn more about the project: cutt.ly/DIA-Support-project

Media inquiries:

Yuliia Samus, Communications Team Leader, UNDP in Ukraine, Yuliia.Samus@undp.org or +38 097 139 1475