Topic: 2026 – Digital Equity for Children
Country: Greece
Delegate Name: Aurel Chatterjee
Committee: UNICEF
Agenda: Digital Equity
Delegation: Greece
Aurel Chatterjee
Farmington High School
Digital equity means ensuring everyone has the accessibility to technology needed to participate in online learning today,as well as the digital skills to thrive with the resources they have. However, it is a very real truth that individuals not just in Greece, but across the globe do not have the necessary facilities that allow others to enjoy technology easily. Greece’s objective is to make sure no one is excluded from opportunities because of lack of technology, digital literacy, or accessibility. Although ~87 % of the population uses the internet, and ~89 % of households have online access, more than 11 % of Greeks have never used the internet, according to the DDR (Digital Decade report of 2025). This group, lagging behind others in the country, is the main focus of efforts to bring underprivileged communities up to speed with the rest of the country. Furthermore, only ~52 % of the population has at least basic digital skills, which has seen little change in recent years. These figures reflect that while Greece has made strides in expanding digital access for the masses, work still needs to be done to ensure all groups have an equal opportunity for digital opportunity.
In the wake of COVID-19, the abrupt switch to online learning was met with €200 vouchers to students aged 4-24 from low-income families for the purchase of necessary devices to be able to participate in online learning. To deal with barriers associated with cost, Greece plans to keep offering increased governmental financial aid to those in this age group that demonstrate the need for financial assistance. To make sure students are adequately supported while in higher education, Greek universities have traditionally offered some support helping lower-income students. However, to address the issue of digital equity, Greece recognizes it is necessary to apply more attention to this and will therefore divert some funding from certain overcompensated sectors (ex. agriculture) to educational resources and opportunities. To further assist families in need with accessibility issues–ranging from digital literacy to disabilities that make it difficult to learn– the delegation aims to make sure every child and young adult is able to secure a suitable device with the background to support it.
These measures will help to lessen the gap between gender and geographic divides until more permanent action can be taken to eliminate these differences. To realistically change the way people approach digital spaces, Greece believes in continuing to implement the ‘Digital Education Transformation Initiative’. Funded by the EU’s Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF), the initiative that has provided necessary training for educators to relay skills to use digital tools onto their students, this program can be taken further to help level the way for new legislation that helps eliminate the underlying problems preventing children all over the country from using technology both effectively and safely. Eliminating the inequalities students from different socioeconomic backgrounds face while receiving their education is the principal concern of the nation of Greece. To address foundational issues and further students’ understanding of how to utilize these resources to their fullest potential, standardized digital literacy classes will be established. The ideal that developing minds will have the needed foresight to use the tools they are given solely for educational purposes, without teaching them how to use these devices in a manner that helps them grow, is a fatal miscalculation that could lead to considerable consequences in the future. Accordingly, Greece is prepared to put into action principles brought forward by others and collaborate on plans to make sure all youth are able to learn.
Works Cited:
https://digital-skills-jobs.europa.eu/en/european-interactive-map/greece?
https://www.unesco.org/fr/dtc-financing-toolkit/greeces-digital-education-transformation-initiative
https://digitalstrategy.gov.gr/website/static/website/assets/Digital_Transformation_Strategy_2019.pd
https://reforms-investments.ec.europa.eu/projects/vouchers-students-laptops-and-other-it-stuff_en
