2021 continued to be strongly influenced by the incidence of COVID-19, as Latin America was one of the regions with the longest school disruption in the world during the pandemic. 

This situation posed great challenges for ProFuturo, where we are committed to massive online teacher training and the digital skills development. With the offer of courses, and according to the needs of each country, we built educational pathways and diplomas certified by the ministries of each country that allowed many teachers to improve their qualifications and be recognised.

Efforts were also directed towards actions that provided students with access to education, from mobile applications or offline resources, to other communication technologies, such as radio and television. Thus, the supply of educational resources was expanded and initiatives were promoted so that children could continue to receive their lessons online, on television, radio and offline where possible.

6 innovative projects of 2021 in Latin America

If you want to know about some of the most innovative projects in Latin America developed during 2021 with which we continue to ensure the education of thousands of children, read on!:

1. Brazil: Around 80,000 primary school students benefited in 2021 from Estude em Casa pela Ondas do Aula Digital, an educational project that since 2020 has been taking ProFuturo resources to the airwaves in the State of Sergipe thanks to an agreement between the Department of Education and the Paramitas Institute.
2. Chile: In the ProFuturo Virtual Classroom, more than 33,000 students and 1,500 teachers took part in innovative activities in Computational Thinking, attended discussions with experts and had access to high-impact training programmes, such as the diploma courses for teachers that are certified by the Ministry of Education.
3. Colombia: More than 27,000 parents and caregivers in the country were trained in 2021 in digital skills and responsible use of ICT thanks to Clic Ahí, a four-part series that adapts the resources of ProFuturo’s Escuela TIC Familia programme to TV.
4. Panama: More than 977,000 primary school students benefited in 2021 from ProFuturo’s digital resources turned into TV lessons and broadcast on the nationwide Conéctate con la Estrella programme, thanks to a Cooperation Agreement between the State Radio and Television System (SERTV) and the Ministry of Education.
5. Peru: In the absence of face-to-face activities in schools, Peru continued to work with schools, in alliance with the Ministry of Education, through the Digital Classroom at Home, a platform with virtual activities aligned with the country’s curriculum. Thanks to this platform, more than 157,000 children were able to continue their education from home.
6. Uruguay: Around 7,800 students and 600 teachers developed computer skills and competencies by working with different tools with the aim of promoting problem-solving and the appropriation of technologies in the classroom. All this thanks to online training proposals for teachers certified by the Ministry of Education and workshops on computational thinking for both teachers and children in different educational centres.

If you want to know more about everything that has happened in ProFuturo 2021, here you can view the complete annual report so you don’t miss anything.