Supporting sustainable and inclusive growth through digital inclusion

Subject to recurrent economic shocks due to the protracted political conflict, economic activity in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip remains highly unstable. Digital innovation offers a viable mean to unlock economic growth within the Palestinian context, whilst digital interactions can help overcome traditional obstacles for the most vulnerable groups, including women and people with disabilities. In 2020, the importance of digital inclusion has been made even more evident by the Covid-19 crisis.

Paradoxically, despite the wide availability of digital tools and their inclusion into economic structures, educational curricula have not followed this trend and digital alphabetization has shown little progress. A significant gap therefore exists between competencies acquired by young graduates and those required by employers.

The project, designed and piloted by the ACTED association, aims to overcome obstacles to development caused by the political conflict and to foster sustainable growth by exploiting the potential of digital innovation for unemployed young graduates and young entrepreneurs. More specifically, the project is contributing to the creation of inclusive employment opportunities by increasing both supply and demand in the field of digital technologies through the provision of digital training and tools for young Palestinian graduates, and technical, material and financial support to digital institutions and entrepreneurial initiatives in oPt.

The project is directly benefiting 2,500 people, including 750 women and 125 people with disabilities. Eight digital institutions are being equipped and rehabilitated, facilitating access to digital technologies for around 800 people. The action is also reaching a wide range of beneficiaries through the creation of an e-learning platform, dedicated digital trainings and tools and a hackathon to help address gaps in e-learning by strategizing solutions for the transition towards mixed usage of online and physical education approaches.