Cisco recognizes the importance of education in the economic development of impoverished communities and aims to create sustainable models of education in the developing world. Educating the next generation is a priority for governments. For the private sector, it is critical for building a skilled labor force, stimulating the economy, and improving productivity.

The Global Education Initiative (GEI) came about in response to an appeal by Cisco Chairman and CEO John Chambers at the World Economic Forum in 2003 to develop a technology-supported education model that would reduce the gap between developed and developing countries. Based on its vision and commitment to the advancement of education, the government of Jordan was selected to launch this effort in partnership with the World Economic Forum and business leaders.

The Jordan Education Initiative demonstrated the power and potential of collaborative public-private partnerships to catalyze education reform. The initiative comprised more than 45 participating organizations and had a direct investment of $25 million. Building on the success of the work in Jordan, the GEI is now being implemented in the Indian state of Rajasthan and in Egypt.

GEI Projects

Ongoing GEI projects include:

• Partnerships for Education: This joint initiative with the United Nations Educational, Scientific, Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and the World Economic Forum was created to enable what are called Multi-Stakeholder Partnerships for Education. Cisco is participating by helping to document the role of the private sector in these partnerships.
• Egypt Education Initiative: During the first phase of this initiative, 2000 schools, 15 universities, 650,000 students, and 70,000 teachers have joined together to enact improvements in e-learning across Egypt. To date, Cisco has created 104 Networking Academy sites, with 200 more scheduled to open by late 2007.
• Rajasthan Education Initiative: This initiative in India’s largest state seeks to improve social and economic conditions by developing IT skills in a predominantly agrarian region. Targeted at girls, rural children, urban under-privileged children, and children with special needs, the initiative aims to accelerate IT education in 32 government District Computer Education Centres (DCECs) across Rajasthan. Two DCECs are operational and three more DCECs are expected to open by the end of calendar year 2007. To date, 44 instructors have been trained on IT Essentials and 28 students, half of them female, have completed the course.