Educating For The Modern Era And The Future

Einstein is CEO at Global Startup Ecosystem one of the first digital accelerator education startups. He is a partner at Africa Future Fund investing in initiatives across Africa and the diaspora that leverage advanced technologies to “leapfrog” Africa’s future. He has also launched tech summits across emerging markets in Haiti and Ghana.

Education fundamentally serves to illuminate and liberate, bring awareness to a situation, inform and transform one’s perspective. Education provides a bright spot that spreads to illuminate and liberate in order to empower an individual to improve their environment, their community and lead to a transformation of his or her life. This has been our sole goal; to help people appreciate the very opportunities that lie at one’s fingertips or understand that new ones can be created.

Data suggests that smartphone penetration continues to grow rapidly – within the next 4 years there will be an increase from a 60% mobile phone penetration to 95% even in low income nations. As it stands, many people across Haiti, Africa, India, the Caribbean, South America and many more places are unable to make ends meet but have smartphones which are often just used for basic entertainment such as social media. However, these smartphones can be used to learn new skills, conduct research, learn from diverse economies across the world and also to tap into the global market. These platforms also help to gain access to teachers, mentors and guides who can illuminate people’s lives and educate for the future.

Education also provides the avenue to affect the moral wellbeing of people or individuals living in a country. Good education helps the individual to identify what is morally right and good for the complete development of humanity. This helps reduce the chances of civil wars and conflicts which occur as a result of the lack of, or because of, inadequate education.

Education transcends skills development and the provision for economic empowerment. It helps to reduce gender inequality, increases support for people in trauma or in need of mental health care. It also facilitates understanding and appreciation of entertainment, design, the arts and the like. Collectively this shows that by increasing an individual’s ability to gain education, the illumination it provides raises that person’s standard of living, joy and overall growth and development.

A lot of progress has been made towards achieving SDG 4 as globally as more people are literate across the board even in remote areas. However, the key area that has not been keenly addressed is the digital divide because of the rapid growth of technology and the dependence on technological proficiency in this modern age. This is why it is significant that in order to achieve SDG 4, education in technology has to be a key component. This will equip individuals with the requisite skills needed in most jobs.

That is why the building of strong tech hubs via the Haiti Tech Summit and Haiti Tech has led to such a rapid transformation in the lives of so many; the building of vital training mechanisms has served to liberate and enlighten people. Such a strong push towards building tech ecosystems and hubs across emerging markets has served to bring global thought leaders in technology and innovation to Haiti. This initiative and project helps train people in digital skills locally, whilst educating international leaders about the opportunities available in Haiti and its increasing readiness to be part of technological innovation worldwide.


Believing that education alone is not enough but rather the need for appropriate education which is relevant for context

and time is one of the objectives of Haiti Tech Summit. This is why education around technology is paramount even for the

basics of work. We have endeavoured to help teach people across emerging markets and emerging communities ; the power of leveraging education in technology in order to build the appropriate skills. Haiti is proof of where many young people, people from very underprivileged backgrounds and even people with limited literacy, have been taught how to go on education platforms on their phones to do courses, how to do basic design work, how to research and how to provide services to a global market which can pay for such skills and service.


In a world where there is so much abundance, the missing link is how people can access the right information. This can be achieved through education, which helps people to learn. Leveraging technology helps provide high quality education and opportunities no matter which part of the country people or individuals find themselves. This provides a platform which can train teachers and they can also train the youth and pass on the information to them. The problem often is access to quality and appropriate education. The core mission for the Global Startup Ecosystem has been to increase access to people and through our digital platforms we have been able to train people across remote regions so long as they have access to a phone and connectivity. We saw with the global startup ecosystem that the best way of providing access to experts is through technology.


Within three years we have been able to help transform Haiti into one of the leading tech hubs and ecosystems of the Caribbean. Haiti now has the largest programming and developer communities in the region who have been educated to code and build platforms, websites, applications and more that help empower people and enterprises in the region. The belief that education has to serve the young, the old and be appropriate for the modern day and the future has been a core driver for us. This belief is the biggest reason we have been able to achieve so much so quickly. We are collectively educating over 6000 people in Haiti alone with our programs around technology, promoting understanding of the future of work, helping them gain new skills to reduce the level of unemployment, increasing literacy, female recruitment, self-empowerment and access to a wider global audience to further increase the propensity of continuous learning.


We have found education to be a catalyst to solve issues across all the rest of the SDGs from economic empowerment, gender equality, health, poverty and much more. This has been witnessed firsthand by seeing how relevant education around technology and access to technology has led to the lives of many people in Haiti and across the world being transformed through the programs and access we tirelessly work to provide. It has been an uplifting journey seeing less privileged people have their lives liberated through education and those with resources have their world views focused on regions that

have traditionally been relegated and not properly considered.


From Engage issue 20.

EINSTEIN KOFI NTIM • November 24, 2021

UNESCO ASPnet Schools Coventry

By Ann Beatty • July 8, 2025
This week our CEO Ann and Jude (SSF Ambassador) visited schools in Coventry and heard about the wonderful work that students are doing to foster peace and community connection, as part of Coventry Arts Week. We visited Lyng Hall school in the morning and met with Ms Hagan and four of the schools UNESCO ASPnet ambassadors. They told us all about their recent project. The students took their art and poetry to the 80th Anniversary symposium in Ypres and Dunkirk. They shared with us some of the poetry they had written together with the students on the field trip and some of their own poems too. They also shared their future plans for working with their local primary school on peace and community. We also had the privilege of joining Ms Hagans class where they were looking at Caliban’s tale. Here is one of the students work

A Get Moving Fundraiser - Ann's 60 Miles Walk

By Ann Beatty • June 30, 2025
For my birthday this year I had the honour to walk 60 miles (yes it was a big 0 birthday) over 3 days to support the essential work of the Steve Sinnott Foundation of which I am CEO. Education in its many forms is essential for all of us to thrive and make the most of life's opportunities. The Foundation works to ensure that as many children and adults as possible across the globe can access the human right of education. The plan was to walk with friends and supporters who I hoped would keep me smiling along the way and it felt like a good way to make use of the Foundation’s “Get Moving” campaign. Here's how my Get Moving Fundraiser went on the first day. The 13th June I started my walk in London by walking from Barnet to west Hampstead and visiting my sister at her shop at Tree of Life where I got served a nice iced coffee to keep me going.

Sustainable Development Goal 4

By Matthew Round • June 4, 2025
Defining Success in Education: Bridging Gaps for a Better Future Education is often seen as the gateway to personal and societal advancement through personal betterment. But defining success in education requires a deeper understanding than just academic achievement, it isn’t just about qualifications or certificates. Rather educational success is about ensuring access to learning that is inclusive, equitable and quality-driven. It’s about equipping students with critical thinking skills and the space to be creative. A quality education fosters holistic approaches, promoting emotional, social and intellectual growth. On a societal level, educational success is about ensuring we value and appreciate a society wide distribution of knowledge and skills; that diversity of thought can be just as important as orthodoxy. Ensuring Access to Education that Meets Individual Needs Traditional western forms of education based within on e-size-fits all models are inadequate in a world where learners have diverse backgrounds, abilities and needs. A shift is needed away from the top-down deficit model approaches which assume teaching and learning is transactional or akin to filling empty vessels, or as Paulo Freire described it, the Banking Model of teaching. Success in education will come from programmes that respect differences between individuals and across communities, using, for example, adaptive learning approaches. Additionally, integrating support for learners with neurodivergent needs or disabilities, as well as promoting (and indeed funding) digital literacy, can ensure that education is individual but also focused on the emancipatory effects of education. Gender and Racial Equity: The Pillars of Inclusive Education Gender and racial equity are crucial components of a successful education system and a founding component of Sustainable Development Goal 4. Although there has been significant progress here, disparities globally still persist. Barriers such as gender-based violence, early marriage and inadequate school infrastructure pose challenges for the international community. Similarly, racial inequality in education can manifest in various ways, from lower access to quality schooling to biased curricula that don't reflect diverse cultures or histories. To address these disparities, education systems should continue to develop policies that promote gender-sensitive curricula and address the specific needs of marginalised groups. Investing in female education, particularly in underserved areas such as sexual health, has been shown to create a ripple effect that benefits entire communities. Similarly, anti-racist educational frameworks can help to make sure that all students, regardless of their race or gender, receive the same opportunities to thrive. Creating a Better Future: What Needs to Be Done? Most importantly, we need to keep talking about SDG 4 — providing inclusive and equitable education and promoting lifelong learning opportunities for all. The more SDG4 is part of the global conversation the more likely it will become part of the taken for granted expectations of all countries and communities. The more academics like me discuss it in our lectures and have it in assignments, likely the more we are to normalise high quality, free primary and secondary education with our future global leaders. But more than this SDG4 should be at the heart of grass roots conversations, in every classroom, playground, and café. The more we talk about it the more a part of our global culture equitable access to education will become. Ultimately, success in education will not be defined by what certificates students attain, but by how well we equip individuals and communities to navigate and shape the world. Education should empower individuals, communities and nations to achieve their full potential, breaking down barriers that have traditionally limited access and opportunity. By striving for inclusivity, equity and quality, we can build a future where education truly is for everyone. BIOGRAPHY Dr Matthew Round is an academic and educator, who has worked with children from 3 years old to PhD students. Having been a science teacher, pastoral leader, and senior leader in schools in the UK, he now works in Higher Education and his current research focused on the emancipatory philosophies of Pierre Bourdieu and sex and sexuality education.