Video remarks for UN initiative “Rise for All”

I am rising in solidarity with other global leaders because I can see the long-term consequences of this human crisis.

While the whole world rushes to fight the spread of the coronavirus, the viruses of ignorance and despair continue to slowly, but steadily, grow on the sidelines of our lives. Scientists and researchers will most likely succeed in finding a vaccine to COVID-19. Eventually we will prevail, and the virus will be defeated and will retreat. However, our decades of experience have taught us that ignorance and despair are much harder to defeat.

Let’s be honest. We were not living in a perfect, peaceful world before COVID-19.

Our world was already contending with other pandemics. They are called poverty, hunger, unemployment, illiteracy, war, conflict. COVID-19 is exacerbating these current predicaments exponentially. We cannot turn a blind eye from the long term consequences that will likely imprint our children and youth.

More than 90 percent of the world’s enrolled children are currently out of school , many of which do not have access to online learning. According to the ILO, the MENA region is projected to lose 5 million jobs, added to the current 40 million jobs that need to be created for youth.

If we do not intervene, the effects of this crisis will have disastrous educational and economic effects on our young people. We will be leading them down a dangerous path of hopelessness and possibly extremism. We cannot let this ticking time bomb go off.

We are living in a digital world. At Education Above All and Silatech, we are reaching children and youth using online solutions to keep them connected to education resources and employment opportunities. This will help prevent the interruption of learning and the exclusion of young people from the workforce.

Let’s not waste this moment in time to merely react to combat COVID 19. Let’s be proactive and think long-term. Instead of working from fear, we must take this opportunity to narrow the digital gap and bring innovative solutions to our children and youth. It is only when every human being is connected, will our digital world be able to preserve our humanity.