Dr. Hamad bin Mohammed Al Al-Sheikh, Minister of Education, participated in a high-level session entitled: (Effective Educational Ecosystems: Solutions for Open Digital Contents), within the Solutions Day at the "Transforming Education" Summit in New York, USA. This coincides with the September 13-27 convening of the seventy-seventh session of the United Nations General Assembly. During the session, the Minister of Education said that "advanced technologies provide effective, equitable and comprehensive access to open electronic resources and platforms for learners with different backgrounds, interests and needs at any time and from anywhere in the world, which can be provided through various outlets such as satellite channels, digital platforms, and text messages," affirming the importance of open electronic resources and platforms in supporting and building students' capabilities, enhancing teachers' skills, and facilitating access to high-quality educational materials and resources. He highlighted the Kingdom's distinguished experience in the field of digital transformation since 2005 as well as its efforts during the coronavirus pandemic through developing educational platforms and investment in the digital solutions. He pointed to the role of the Kingdom's educational platforms, "My School (Madrasati), My Kindergarten (Rawdati), and Ein Educational Channels", which received global attention and provided an inspiring model for educational systems around the world in providing equitable and effective access to all learners. Dr. Al Al-Sheikh added that the Kingdom's success in the field of open digital resources and platforms emanated from the early investment in the digital infrastructure and digital education in the Kingdom. He disclosed that the Kingdom is one of the few countries around the world that has an institution dedicated to e-learning policies and defining standards for all electronic and digital educational content, which is the National e-Learning Center, affirming the importance of the cycle of open electronic resources and platforms in developing education and increasing the durability of educational systems in times of crisis. He stressed that the low cost, ease of reuse, compatibility with local contexts, and re-publication reflect the importance of open electronic resources and platforms, pointing out that the students in the Kingdom via these platforms and resources can learn about the Natural History Museum here in New York, while they are in their classrooms in Riyadh. Meanwhile, the students here in the United States and from around the world can tour virtually in NEOM Smart City in the Kingdom.
