The importance of education in scientific and technological areas, as well as digital and technological literacy, is growing rapidly and therefore it is necessary to encourage the development of non-formal types of education that would be accessible to children and young people, especially those from marginalized social groups, said Commissioner for Protection of Equality Brankica Jankovic at a meeting “Learning for the 21st Century”, organized by the association SEE ICT aimed to inform the community, media and stakeholders about the importance of acquiring and developing digital skills in children.
Within the panel discussion “Contribution of non-formal education to the development of digital competencies of young people: how to overcome gender differences”, Commissioner pointed out that engaging girls in mastering digital skills and STEM fields from the early age is essential for achieving gender and economic equality and that effective, systematic ways have to be found in order to encourage girls to explore the opportunities of the 21st century technologies in a practical and funny way.
The meeting was opened by the Minister of Trade, Tourism and Telecommunications Tatjana Matic and the Director of UNICEF in Serbia Deyana Kostadinova, while other speakers at the panel were also Dobrinka Kuzmanovic, a researcher at the Institute of Psychology, Stanislava Vuckovic, an expert on youth and adolescent development at UNICEF, Ranko Trifkovic, educator and Branko Krsmanovic, from the Science and Technology Park Nis.