A vocational training program through the Center for Sustainable Development is empowering women to become entrepreneurs and pursue higher education.

Columbia’s Center for Sustainable Development is testing a virtual reality module to help train teachers in a comfortable and individual virtual space.

The proposed “ITC Center” in India would provide a cyber café and training center for women, powered by a solar mini-grid for reliable and affordable electricity.

Women today are completing higher levels of education and taking on more leadership roles, yet many barriers to economic empowerment still persist.

Today, on July 15th, we celebrate the first annual World Youth Skills Day, which recognizes that young people need technical and vocational education to excel at both the local and global level.

In sub-Saharan Africa, only 63 percent of girls complete their schooling, according to the World Bank. Yet our own research in the Millennium Cities indicates that girls who continue their education will have far greater opportunities, and they will be in a better position to care for themselves and their families. To celebrate the United Nations’ International Day of the Girl, by “Standing Up for Girls” and their right to a quality education, a number of the Millennium Cities and Millennium Villages Project sites held rallies, marched and participated in debates on girls’ issues.

For many in the developing world, education isn’t taken for granted. Around 35 million girls are out of school, the World Bank says, almost half of them in sub-Saharan Africa. In support of girls’ education, MCI joined the literacy organization LitWorld and other partners, including Connect To Learn, Asia Initiatives and the Children of Kibera Foundation, for a “Stand Up for Girls” rally to celebrate the International Day of the Girl on September 22.