With several thousand teenagers in Europe and the USA dropping out of school every day (with many more at risk) and employers increasingly bemoaning the paucity of well-trained people to fill vacant positions, clearly there is a broken link in need of mending. The problem is so daunting that no single institution can solve it. Diverse stakeholders—including policymakers, community leaders and business—have a shared and urgent responsibility to craft new solutions.
One common denominator in pegging solutions is the crucial role of information and communications technology—both as an intervention in enhancing the educational process and as a prized skill that every day seems to weave its way into more job descriptions. It is in society’s interest to build the talents of youth and likewise in the interest of business and industry to ensure that 21st-century learning skills are inculcated early and often by well-trained teachers.
A unique gathering of 50 American and European foundation, corporate and government decision-makers as well as researchers and practitioners convened in Washington, DC, on October 4–5, 2001, to tackle these difficult issues.
This report captures the highlights from our very productive Roundtable and attempts to synthesize several of the recurrent themes. It concludes with ways in which you can get connected with our follow-up activities.