Launching of UPSHIFT in the Maldives

Male’, 28 February 2023 – The Government of Maldives and UNICEF jointly launched UPSHIFT, led by the Ministry of Education. UPSHIFT was launched this morning by H. E Vice President Faisal Naseem at a special event at Hiriya School. The UNICEF Regional Director for South Asia Mr. George Laryea-Adjei and the Minister of Education, Dr. Aishath Ali also took part in the event held this morning.

UPSHIFT is a UNICEF global innovation programme being carried out in over 45 countries globally, to provide young people with transferable skills needed for life and livelihood. It is an adaptable and scalable approach for young people to acquire competencies and to engage positively with their communities as change-makers. Following today’s launch, UPSHIFT will be implemented as part of the national curriculum in Maldives, to provide young people with foundational skills for innovation, entrepreneurship, engagement and employability, and thereby will contribute to bridge the school to work transition.

All students in grades 7 and 8 from 48 schools across Maldives will participate in the pilot programme of UPSHIFT that kicks off today. The four separate, yet interconnected components that comprise UPSHIFT globally are:

1. Skills-Building: Building of transferable skills, including problem-solving, critical thinking, creativity, collaboration, communication and leadership skills
2. Civic Engagement: Meaningfully engaging adolescents and young people in their communities
3. Entrepreneurship: Referred to both as a skillset and a mindset, motivating adolescents and young people to solve a problem and to make a viable and sustainable solution
4. Empowerment: Building of confidence, resilience and sense of agency among adolescents and young people UPSHIFT will be delivered in Maldives through UNISOLVE, a digital platfrom that was designed with support of InquiLab, to transform the existing UPSHIFT curricula through a school-based, teacher-facilitated, blended delivery model. The combination of distance learning opportunities and face-to-face activities promotes design thinking and the development of 21st century transferable skills among young people.

The Minister of Education, Dr. Aishath Ali noted that the Maldives education policy is to provide children with a holistic education which prepares them for life and that UPSHIFT provides the tools for that.

Following the pilot, UNICEF looks forward to continued efforts with all stakeholders to scale up UPSHIFT to reach more young people and to help them acquire skills, space and opportunities that will prepare them for the 21^st century skills they need for life and employment or entrepreneurial pathway they may choose to take. Together, we can create future where young people are seen, heard and engaged.

For more information, please contact:

Aishath Naja Khalid, Ministry of Education, +960 952-5889, naja.khalid@moe.gov.mv

Aminath Jala Zuhury, UNICEF Maldives, +960 792-7727, azuhury@unicef.org