UNESCO-UNICEF-ITU Charter for Public Digital Learning Platforms
As part of the global push to bring schools online, new guidance from United Nations organizations aims to help make digital learning platforms secure and interoperable.
The Charter for Public Digital Learning Platforms – prepared jointly by the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) – seeks to help countries support, extend and enrich school-based education through public digital learning platforms.
Its launch in Helsinki, Finland, on 19 March, marks the International Day for Digital Learning.
The Charter outlines seven principles to guide how such platforms can be designed, governed and sustained anywhere in the world.
“Learning is increasingly happening online, and our public education systems need to keep pace,” said ITU Secretary-General Doreen Bogdan-Martin. “That means building digital foundations that are safe, interoperable, and designed to protect learners. ITU is ready to support countries in transforming the principles of this Charter into inclusive, secure and trusted digital education platforms that leave no learner behind.”
Today, hundreds of millions of learners and teachers live in countries or communities that are not served by any public digital learning platforms. In other contexts, learners and teachers struggle with platforms that are poorly maintained, unreliable or difficult to navigate and use.
With so many learners, teachers, and parents already immersed in digital spaces and able to benefit from digital services, public digital learning platforms are now ‘need to have‘ components of education, rather than ‘nice to have‘ components.
As education systems adapt to rapid digital change, the Charter will help ensure that their transformation remains inclusive, coherent and aligned with public priorities.
“In today’s screen-based age, education needs to meet students where they are – and, more and more, that’s online,” said Stefania Giannini, Assistant Director-General for Education at UNESCO. “The Charter clarifies that digital learning platforms are core education infrastructure. UNESCO is pleased to provide a positive vision for digital learning platforms in partnership with our sister UN agencies.”
From connectivity to system integration
For Giga, the ITU/UNICEF joint initiative supporting governments to connect every school to the Internet, the milestone Charter reinforces global school connectivity efforts. Connectivity is the essential first step, but it alone does not guarantee transformation.
As more schools come online, digital systems need to function coherently within national education ecosystems. Such system-wide coherence in digital platforms requires technical interoperability, strong safeguards and responsible governance.
Otherwise, connected schools risk relying on fragmented platforms that limit scalability and long-term sustainability.
The Charter responds to this challenge by establishing a shared normative reference to guide how public digital learning platforms are integrated within national systems. It emphasizes interoperability, safeguards, data stewardship and long-term sustainability as essential elements of trusted digital education ecosystems.
Developed through consultation with national governments and international experts, the Charter reflects shared priorities and practical experience from many different countries.
“This Charter is our collective commitment to ensure that the digital world becomes an extension of the education system, not a replacement for it,” said Pia Rebello Britto, Global Director of Education of UNICEF. “Delivered responsibly as a public good, AI and other EdTech solutions offer a unique opportunity to connect private-sector innovation with public-sector policies, safeguards and systems to provide teachers with the training, tools and resources they need to deliver on our promise: quality education for all.”
By anchoring digital learning platforms within secure, interoperable and publicly governed national systems, countries can ensure that connectivity investments translate into durable public value, strengthening education systems for the long term.
Header image credit: Giga/Sri Lanka
