The newest HP Education Edition PCs will come loaded with a whole heap of teaching guides and multimedia guides to help girls around the world have better access to education.
Specifically, teachers at primary and secondary level will get access to a new curriculum, filled with project-based lesson plans and multimedia resources designed to encourage critical thinking and teach subjects including arts, languages, maths and social studies.
Topics examined include family dynamics, poverty, political unrest an economic stability, addressing issues from ‘how do economies grow when girls are educated’ to questions like ‘how do parents keep their daughters safe and cared for.’
New HP initiative
HP launched the initiative—which aims to reach millions of students and teachers, particularly in India, Nigeria and the USA—as part of its goal to “enable better learning outcomes” for 100 million people by 2025.
It’s the result of a new collaboration with Girl Rising, a non-profit that specialises in eradicating poverty by providing education to girls and “addressing powerful social norms that hold girls back.”
The curriculum draws on chapters from the charity’s eponymous 2013 film “Girl Rising,” which covered the story of nine “unforgettable” girls and was voiced by a whole host of celebrities—including Anne Hathaway, Cate Blanchett, Selena Gomez, Liam Neeson and Freida Pinto.
Learning with HP equipment in schools. Credit: HP
“We are thrilled to once again partner with HP — a company committed to social impact and at the forefront of innovation in the classroom — to radically scale our efforts to ensure girls everywhere have the “knowledge, skills and confidence to decide their own futures,” said Christina Lowery, chief executive of Girl Rising.
“We are devoted to this cause because it is a proven catalyst: giving girls access to education and opportunity is the most effective factor in transforming pressing global issues including health, poverty, and climate change.”
Sadly, a push to help women find opportunities in education remains more necessary than ever: of the 750 million adults without basic literacy skills, two thirds are women, and more than 130 million girls around the world lack access to education.
For its part, HP stressed that it prides itself on using technology to “bring out the best of humanity.” “Girl Rising is doing groundbreaking work to empower women and girls around the world,” commented Michele Malejki, global head of Social Impact Programmes at HP.
“This has never been more important, and our collaboration will equip millions of both students and teachers with the curriculum and technology they need to thrive.”
In addition, HP is also adding School Packs, a free e-learning programme to support entrepreneurship and skills development School Packs.
HP has a history of working on social impact projects. It recently partnered with UN Women on Second Chance Education and African Girls Can Code, two initiatives that it says possess “immense potential” to scale and address the lack of investment in women and afford them “access to opportunities for career work and economic growth.”
