Pluralsight One Partners with Norwegian Refugee Council to Help Address the Needs of the Global Refugee Crisis
June 20 2019 - 3:00AM
Pluralsight, the enterprise technology skills platform, today
announced that its social enterprise, Pluralsight One, has formed a
multi-year partnership with the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) to
transform its digital capabilities, and bring technology skills
development opportunities to displaced people and their host
communities around the world. The partnership is designed to create
sustainable social impact for displaced and crisis-affected
populations around the world, as well as increase the technical
capabilities of NRC to support the organization’s digital
transformation.
The partnership comes at a critical time for the organization
and the world. According to recent data from the United Nations
High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), 70.8 million people are now
displaced worldwide, the largest number ever recorded and almost
equal to the population sizes of California and Texas combined.
Even more tragic is the fact that every second refugee was a child
in 2018, many of them (111,000) traveled alone and without their
families.
Countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, Northern Africa, and the Middle
East were the hardest hit, and ongoing conflicts in those regions
will continue to displace more people this year. In addition to
recent refugees, tens of millions have been left in a protracted
state of displacement by ongoing conflicts around the world, with
no clear timeline for their resettlement. Gaining technology skills
as they await their fate can help them work towards a better and
brighter future.
“We are committed to helping NRC accelerate and magnify their
impact, building on their phenomenal track record. And we want to
empower these humanitarian experts with the technology skills they
need to advance their work in the face of the incredibly complex
problems they’re tackling head-on,” said Aaron Skonnard, co-founder
and CEO of Pluralsight. “In addition, we will provide refugees and
displaced persons the opportunity to learn technology skills so
they may create a better and safer future for themselves, their
families, their communities and potentially, our world as a
whole.”
NRC recognizes the important role technology can play in meeting
the global refugee crisis, and is partnering with Pluralsight One
to support its digital transformation and the application of
technology-based solutions to its existing programs and future
programs to create better outcomes for refugees around the
world.
In Iraq, attorneys with NRC’s Information Counselling and Legal
Assistance program have been working with refugees to re-establish
their documentation since improper documentation creates
significant barriers for refugees. The face-to-face program is hard
to scale today, but if NRC could build a virtual legal assistance
program through technology, they could greatly increase the number
of people they assist and provide them with help 24/7.
In Venezuela, technology could be used to provide life-saving
information to refugees who are crossing the border into
neighboring countries with little insight into what to expect with
the situation on the ground or what steps to take once they reach
their destination. By placing free wi-fi hotspots along the routes
out of Venezuela and into Colombia, Brazil and other countries,
fleeing refugees can connect to the internet to gather information
on where to go and how to receive services.
“Our job is to help displaced people help themselves. Access to
the right skills is vital to rebuilding lives after crisis has
struck,” said Jan Egeland, Secretary-General of the Norwegian
Refugee Council. “Partnering with Pluralsight One as we
undergo a digital transformation will have a major, lasting impact
on our organization and the people we serve.”
Pluralsight One and NRC will work together for at least three
years, with an option to extend the partnership after that time, to
fill the gaps in both NRC’s own technology and the tech learning
within refugee and host communities. Pluralsight One Fund is
providing $750,000 over the course of three years to advance the
organization’s digital transformation goals. In addition,
Pluralsight One has provided an initial year 1 product grant valued
at over $6.3M that includes access to the platform for 8,000 NRC
global team members and will continue to scale product access and
usage over the span of the 3-year partnership. Access to the
platform is paired with tech strategy support, content mapping to
organizational and programmatic learning objectives, and more.
About the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC)The
Norwegian Refugee Council is an independent humanitarian
organization helping people forced to flee. NRC works in crises in
31 countries, where we help save lives and rebuild futures. NRC
delivers high-quality aid where needs are greatest, stands up for
people forced to flee, and responds quickly to emergencies. NRC has
a strategic focus on reaching people in hard to reach areas and
underfunded crises, implementing durable solutions that have a
lasting impact, and using technology to deliver faster, wider,
better interventions and enable data-driven decision making. For
more information, visit www.nrc.no.
About Pluralsight and Pluralsight
OnePluralsight is an enterprise technology skills platform
that delivers a unified, end-to-end learning experience for
businesses across the globe. Through a subscription service,
companies are empowered to move at the speed of technology,
increasing proficiency, innovation and efficiency. Founded in 2004
and trusted by Fortune 500 companies, Pluralsight provides members
with on-demand access to a digital ecosystem of learning tools,
including Pluralsight IQ, directed learning paths, expert-authored
courses, interactive labs, and analytics. For more information,
visit www.pluralsight.com.
Pluralsight One is Pluralsight’s social enterprise. It is the
company’s commitment to drive significant, lasting social impact by
improving equal access to technology skills and investing in
catalytic solutions. Pluralsight One Fund is a corporate advised
fund at Silicon Valley Community Foundation, a 501(c)(3) public
charity registered in the United States, EIN# 20-5205488. For more
information about Pluralsight One, visit
www.pluralsightone.org.
Media Contact
Pluralsight PRBen VeghteDirector,
Communicationsben-veghte@pluralsight.com
NRCCatriona LoughranMedia
Advisercatriona.loughran@nrc.no
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