Do you know Semlex? The company behind the creation of our Semlex For Education Foundation? In this article, discover Semlex and its social impact on education.
Semlex, a company that promotes secure identity for all
Semlex is a Belgian company that allows each citizen to have a secured identity. For more than 20 years, we have been advising and supporting the governments in the biometric identification and numerical security fields with a view to providing them with a turnkey solution that covers their overall needs. Besides the reliable and secured identification systems, Semlex is autonomous in the production of identity documents: national identity cards, passports, visas, residency permits, residence cards, driving licenses, etc.
But… what is the link between Semlex and education?
Identity documents allow people to travel, to have access to health care, to access financial services and also to have access to… education (and therefore to obtain diplomas).
As you will have understood… there is an obvious link between Semlex and education. Moreover, Semlex has always had a real interest in education. In addition to its projects related to the identification and authentication of the population, Semlex has often been involved in out-of-scope projects when carrying out its contracts with governments. Here are a few examples: financing of primary classes, donations of books to children in a primary school in Abidjan (Ivory Coast), donations of health kits to Togolese schools, financing of a playground for children in the psychiatric unit at Clinique Saint-Jean (Brussels), donations of school kits to Caritas in the parish of Saint-Joseph Artisan (Abidjan), support for professional educational projects, etc.
Identity documents, a necessity for access to education
According to the latest estimates from the World Bank, around 1.1 billion people worldwide cannot officially prove their identity, or one in seven people without an identity document. Who are these 1.1 billion people? [1] :
- 78% live in sub-Saharan Africa and Asia;
- 40% are children under the age of 18 and one in six is under the age of five;
- More than half live in lower-middle-income countries, and a third in low-income countries.
As a result, many children find themselves without identity documents. This situation is very problematic because identity documents allow access to many services: travel, health, education, etc.
For example, in Ivory Coast, students in CM2 (equivalent to fifth primary in Belgium) must present an extract from their birth certificate to validate their request to move to 6th grade or obtain their end-of-study diploma. It also happens that students have never been declared at birth, which means that they do not have identity documents.
The social goal of Semlex
The UN has set up 17 goals in an effort to save the world. These Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) tell us how to achieve a better and more sustainable future for all. Semlex For Education pays particular attention to two of these objectives:
- Goal 4: which ensures access for all to quality education, on an equal footing, and aims to promote lifelong learning opportunities;
- Goal 8: which consists in promoting sustained, shared and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all.
Meanwhile, Semlex supports Sustainable Development Goal 16.9 set by the United Nations, which is to provide legal identity to all citizens by 2030, including registering all births. Each person has the right to be recognized, to hold a legal identity.
Semlex therefore allows citizens to obtain their identity documents of the highest quality that meet all international quality and security standards.
Meet Semlex on June 15 and 16, 2022 at the ID4AFRICA in Marrakech.
Source :
[1] BANQUE MONDIALE (2017). Ne laisser personne pour compte : 1,1 milliard de personnes sans titre d’identité. Available HERE
