NEW YORK — Minister of Education Dr. Hamad Bin Mohammed Al-Sheikh said that “advanced technologies provide effective, equitable and comprehensive access to open electronic resources and platforms for learners with different backgrounds, interests and needs at any time and from anywhere in the world, which can be provided through various outlets such as satellite channels, digital platforms, and text messages.

He made this statement at a high-level session entitled: Effective Educational Ecosystems: Solutions for Open Digital Contents, within the Solutions Day at the “Transforming Education” Summit in New York, USA. This coincided with the Sept. 13-27 convening of the 77th session of the United Nations General Assembly.

During the session, the Minister of Education affirmed the importance of open electronic resources and platforms in supporting and building students' capabilities, enhancing teachers' skills, and facilitating access to high-quality educational materials and resources.

He highlighted the Kingdom's distinguished experience in the field of digital transformation since 2005 as well as its efforts during the coronavirus pandemic through developing educational platforms and investment in the digital solutions.

He pointed to the role of the Kingdom's educational platforms, "My School (Madrasati), My Kindergarten (Rawdati), and Ein Educational Channels", which received global attention and provided an inspiring model for educational systems around the world in providing equitable and effective access to all learners.

Dr. Al-Sheikh added that the Kingdom's success in the field of open digital resources and platforms emanated from the early investment in the digital infrastructure and digital education in the Kingdom.

He disclosed that the Kingdom is one of the few countries around the world that has an institution dedicated to e-learning policies and defining standards for all electronic and digital educational content, which is the National e-Learning Center.

He affirmed the importance of the cycle of open electronic resources and platforms in developing education and increasing the durability of educational systems in times of crisis.

He stressed that the low cost, ease of reuse, compatibility with local contexts, and re-publication reflect the importance of open electronic resources and platforms, pointing out that the students in the Kingdom via these platforms and resources can learn about the Natural History Museum here in New York, while they are in their classrooms in Riyadh.

Meanwhile, the students here in the United States and from around the world can tour virtually in NEOM Smart City in the Kingdom.

Earlier, Dr. Al-Sheikh, participated Saturday in the opening session of the Solutions Day, announcing the launch of its activities and sessions within the work of the "Transforming Education" summit held in New York City.

The ministerial sessions held at the summit provide a forum for global partners to mobilize support for launching or expanding initiatives related to the summit's themes.

A set of initiatives that seek to obtain international partnerships and alliances were presented to contribute to transforming education with the participation and coordination of Member States and international organizations.

The sessions featured a review of initiatives to transform education across five themes, including providing inclusive, equitable, safe and healthy schools, supporting learning and life skills, work and sustainable development, teachers, and teaching profession, as well as digital learning and transformation, and education funding.

Education ministers discussed recovering from educational loss caused by the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and getting back on track to achieve the 2030 Agenda's sustainable development goals and education-related objectives. — SPA