Data sharing and privacy

Project Connect’s mission to map the location and Internet access of every school in the world is undeniably ambitious. There is no single approach that will allow us to achieve it. Our strategy is to combine a variety of methods to build full, live maps that have never existed before.

A foundational part of the UNICEF mission is to provide a public, online map of every school in the world, including real-time data about the quality of each school’s connectivity. The goal of this is to provide open information that can improve educational outcomes for all children. As part of this mission, Project Connect is centered around three core principles:

1. Public data gathered with public money creates public goods

2. School location data is a public good that should be shared

3. Child protection should always be prioritized

(https://projectconnect.unicef.org/privacy#data-sharing)

Digital cooperation is a key enabler of Project Connect’s mission and is reflected in the priorities of many organizations, including the recommendations of the Secretary General’s High-Level Panel on Digital Cooperation. (https://www.un.org/en/sg-digital-cooperation-panel)