About

Mário Franco

Mario made studies in philosophy. His background is linked to associative structures in different areas from youth to development and environment. Later on, he dedicated his attention to public policy, focussing on Information and Communication Technologies, Sustainability and Finance. As from 1995 he has been involved in eInclusion Projects and Programs at national and international levels.

From 1996 to 2004, he chaired the Foundation for the Promotion of Information Technology (FDTI), a network of more than 300 training centers in seven countries and coordinated a special Program to promote science and technology in education. Afterwards he worked as a consultant until 2008. During this time, he focused on promoting sustainable funding and digital skills and creating an international ICT ecosystem.

In 2008, he assumed the post of President of FCM – Foundation for Mobile Communications (FCM), having previously been the manager of the Portuguese Information Society Fund – preceding the FCM. Mario led a team that developed and managed the eSchool Program. This Program, with a budget of 1.2 Billion EUROS, allowed access to a mobile computer and internet to 1.7 million people in Portugal and was considered one of the most successful initiatives in this field.

In 2008, he assumed the post of President of FCM – Foundation for Mobile Communications (FCM), having previously been the manager of the Portuguese Information Society Fund – preceding the FCM. Mario led a team that developed and managed the eSchool Program. This Program, with a budget of 1.2 Billion EUROS, allowed access to a mobile computer and internet to 1.7 million people in Portugal and was considered one of the most successful initiatives in this field.

As manager of the Portuguese Information Society Fund appointed by the Ministers of Finance and the Minister of ICT, Mario was the architect of the Financial Model, which allowed the wide spreading of ICT to more than 50% of the Portuguese population.

During this 10-year period, Mario dedicated his time and effort to develop and implement a sustainable financial model to support the National ICT industry involving around 1% of the Portuguese GDP and many public and private stakeholders. The Model was recognized by many governments and international institutions such as the World Bank (see document attached – Portugal eSchool Top Marks – World Bank Group Public-Private Partnerships).

As manager of the eSchool Program, Mario worked with many companies, governments and institutions, in particular, he Chaired the World Telecommunication Policy Forum (WTPF) organized by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and was a member of the Strategy Council of The Global Alliance for Information and Communication Technologies and Development (GAID) of the United Nations.

As a follow-up of his experience in education and technology at different levels, including international level, Mario is currently the Chairperson of Millennium@EDU SUSTAINABLE EDUCATION and the coordinator of the Sustainable@EDU PROGRAM http://millenniumedu.org that aims to make accessible information, communication and scientific technologies (ICSTs) in learning, education and inclusion under comprehensive initiatives with impact in local socio-economic development. The Sustainable@EDU PROGRAM is committed to contribute to the United Nations Secretary-General initiative “Education First” http://www.globaleducationfirst.org and to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/sdgs.

In the last decade, Mario has been highly dedicated in developing sustainable finance models for education and ICT and has, since the beginning, been engaged in the United Nations Sustainable Development Agenda, in particular regarding the Addis Ababa Conference on Financing for Development and its follow-up.

Mario is involved in several different taskforces related to technology and finance such as the GPE – World Bank Global Partnership for Education Data Roundtable, created with the aim to define a Data Framework for Education and to help improving the management of Finance education.

Mario also organizes annually the SUSTAINABLE EDUCATION MEETING (SEM), which takes place during the United Nations General Assembly Opening Week at the United Nations Headquarters and the Microsoft Technology Center in New York City. The SEM has been, in the last few years, dedicated to Education Finance.

Mario is a regular speaker at conferences around the world on Education and Technologies organized by relevant institutions such as UNESCO and International Telecommunications Union (ITU) among many other institutions and governments.