Enabling A More Inclusive and Sustainable Digital World

Digital technology is reshaping the world around us. While this transformation gains momentum, however, the digital divide is also expanding with staggering speed.

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Right now, more than 2.9 billion people around the world have no Internet coverage. Among the five billion people who do, a significant portion only have very basic connections, and many lack the skills and resources to use them. Whether it's children without access to online education, elderly people who can't use smartphones, or young people who lack the digital skills to find jobs, an enormous segment of the population has been sidelined in a rapidly evolving digital world.

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These challenges are further compounded by threats to our natural environment. Biodiversity loss, ecosystem degradation, and humanity’s expanding ecological footprint are adding up at an alarming pace. We already use more natural resources than the planet can sustainably regenerate, the equivalent of 1.75 earths, and the impact on both human well-being and biodiversity will be devastating if these trends continue.

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We only have one planet, and it's changing. How can we protect the natural environment and ensure sustainable development while accounting for a society that is going digital – and fast? How can we make sure that everyone – and everything – has a place in this new digital world?

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For us, the answer is clear: We have to use technology for good, and we have to use it for all forms of life.

Back in 2019, Huawei launched a digital inclusion initiative called TECH4ALL. Early on, we decided to focus on domains where we could make the most difference, such as education and environmental protection. The idea was that technologies like broadband, the Internet of Things (IoT), AI, and cloud could help power new applications in these domains, and through training and greater accessibility, we could help bring the benefits to more people – and to the environment.

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To promote inclusion, we focus on equipping marginalized people with the skills and resources they need to make full use of digital technology in their everyday lives. In particular, we provide digital skills training for underserved groups, like people with disabilities, women, and remote communities, and we continuously enhance the accessibility of our products and services. To date, we have provided training for over 220,000 people around the globe, and more than 5.2 million people make use of the accessibility features on Huawei devices every month.

We also focus on connecting the unconnected. To help bring remote and rural communities into the digital fold, we designed a RuralStar solution that greatly reduces the cost and complexity of rural wireless network deployment. By 2025, we aim to connect 120 million people in remote communities across more than 80 countries.

As for sustainability, we're using digital technology to help protect the environment and enable more sustainable use of natural resources. Working together with environmental groups around the globe, we are exploring how we can more effectively use digital devices, networks, and cloud to enhance the monitoring and protection of fragile ecosystems.

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The solutions we've developed are already helping rangers and conservationists do their work more safely and efficiently in protected areas across the Philippines, Mauritius, Mexico, and Italy. These programs are also helping ecologists protect endangered species, like Darwin’s foxes in Chile, Hainan gibbons in China, and whales and dolphins in Ireland. All told, TECH4ALL is boosting biodiversity conservation efforts in 46 protected areas around the world.

Our sustainability efforts extend to the digital world as well. To promote greater digital literacy and ensure sustainable development for individuals in the digital world, we provide a wide range of education solutions for children, the elderly, and unemployed youth. In countries like France and Kenya, we have converted shipping containers into mobile classrooms called DigiTrucks, which travel around the countryside to provide free training in basic digital skills. To date, these trucks have helped over 5,000 people improve their digital literacy and gain access to better work opportunities. In remote communities around China, we work with primary schools to provide students with hands-on, interactive STEAM curriculum through our DigiSchool program. As of today, over 2,500 young students have benefited from this program.

Digital technology and collaboration are key enablers for building a more inclusive and sustainable digital world. To achieve that goal, we invest heavily in the technology and platforms that enable the digital community to develop new and inventive applications. And of course, partnerships are everything. We work closely with governments, our customers, international organizations, research institutes, and all manner of NGOs to make the social value of digital technology as expansive and far-reaching as possible.

Huawei's vision and mission is to bring digital to every person, home, and organization for a fully connected, intelligent world. Together with our partners, we will keep innovating and expanding our efforts to make the digital world a more inclusive, sustainable space for all.