RESTART
INITIATIVE
Building Connections for Development in
Azerbaijan and the South Caucasus
Papers and Reports
The global COVID-19 pandemic heralded an unprecedented scale of digital technology use. As the lockdowns of 2020 and 2021 forced people to turn to e-learning, remote work, online shopping, and other e-services, the digital world became an even more inexorable part of daily life – albeit for those with digital literacy skills and access to technology.
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Public-Private Partnership Consortium: Digital Skills Building 4 Karabakh
Khalisa Shahverdiyeva and Jeanene Mitchell, PhD
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April 23, 2022
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By improving its digital connectivity, Azerbaijan has the potential to improve sustainable economic growth, access to online services, and e-governance (World Bank, 2021). In light of objectives for the resettlement and redevelopment of Karabakh, it is essential to address the existing digital obstacles of online service provision and employment skills of returning IDPs, public administrations and businesses in the region. Doing so also has the potential to increase economic engagement and reduce precarity among vulnerable populations, particularly among those disproportionately impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic in Azerbaijan – which in addition to IDPs include women, daily wage earners, youth, children, people with disabilities, and senior citizens.