Acquiring knowledge and skills in the field of information and communication technologies is one of the prerequisites for social inclusion in contemporary society and the labor market, said State Secretary Tatjana Matić at the opening of the conference “New technologies in Education” at the Belgrade Youth Center.
Matić noted that digital literacy leads to the acquisition of digital competences, which is one of the eight key competences that the EU highlighted as the set of knowledge and skills necessary for life in a knowledge-based society.
– In today’s digital world, the technological revolution largely leads to major cultural changes that do not bypass Serbia. Computers, the Internet, smart phones, tablets – have created a world of inexhaustible possibilities, said Matić.
She pointed out that we must allow new technologies into our educational system and our educational habits, in all formal and informal channels of education, in schools and universities.
In the long run, the modernization of education is crucial for the development of a modern economy that is increasingly based on knowledge, said the State Secretary and added that we are witnessing a shortage of professionals for positions in modern successful companies, but have a high unemployment rate at the same time.
Matić concluded that, in the overall improvement of the role of ICT in education, it is necessary to give more space for teaching informatics and computer science in elementary and secondary schools, adding that in many countries, computing is becoming an integral part of the compulsory general education, as will be the case in England starting next fall.
“New Technologies in Education” is a two-day conference dedicated to the use of ICT in the education system. The conference is organized with the aim of modernizing and improving the quality of our educational system, and lecturers from Serbia and Great Britain will share their experience in this field with more than 1500 participants.
The conference is part of the fair in the Belgrade Youth Center where companies from Serbia and the United Kingdom will present their practical solutions in the field of ICT in education.
The conference is organized by the British Council, the Ministry of Foreign and Internal Trade and Telecommunications, the Social Inclusion and Poverty Reduction Unit of the Government of the Republic of Serbia, the Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development, the British Embassy in Belgrade, Serbian Chamber of Commerce, the Belgrade Youth Center and other partners.
