Upon extending its collaboration, Meta Platforms Inc and the Ministry of Tribal Affairs are providing digital skill training for 10 lakh tribal youth and women in India.

To digitally upskill, connect and empower 10 lakh tribal youth and women, Meta launched the second phase of the ‘Going Online as Leaders’ (GOAL) program.

‘Facebook Live’ sessions will be hosted on the program in nine languages by master trainers covering topics such as anti-scamming education, staying safe online, how to combat misinformation and being a good digital citizen.

As a result of GOAL, about 75 percent of participants from the tribal community admitted to being able to better articulate their thoughts into words while improving their interpersonal skills.

"Digitally empowering India's tribal communities would contribute significantly to the socio-economic development of the country and an important step towards creating a flourishing community of tribal leaders," says Union Minister for Tribal Affairs Arjun Munda.

"We are deeply inspired by the stories of some of the tribal leaders who benefitted from the first phase of 'GOAL' that we kicked off in 2020," says Ajit Mohan, Vice President and Managing Director, Facebook India (Meta).

"India's massive digital transformation can be complete when even the most vulnerable communities of our society are digitally empowered," he added.

"Goal 2.0 will further enable lakhs of tribal women and young people to gain from the program," said Anil Jha, Secretary, Ministry of Tribal Affairs.

Tribal population constitutes about 8.6 per cent of the total population in India.

The minister notes that, “In the second phase, we will reach out to 10 lakh women and youth entrepreneurs and will also create a platform for more than 50,000 self-help groups and 10 lakh families associated with 'TRIFED' to take their products global”.