"Digital mentor," I corrected.
One idea is that of creating digital mentors within communities.
As better data science offers companies what is perhaps their most potent opportunity for competitive advantage in the digital age, reverse mentoring could break down any ignorance, confusion and organizational cultural barriers about the value and power of data.
She gives the example of the Digismart scheme, of which she is a patron, which uses digital tools to mentor struggling school children, and has been introduced at 500 schools.
With the help of some basic digital audio equipment and mentoring in writing, recording and editing, Haitian youth produced stories on the rights of all children to go to school and to be protected from sexual violence and abandonment, the need for clean water and sanitation, and access to medical care.
Celine Lazorthes, an H.E.C. graduate and digital entrepreneur who now mentors students at her alma mater, said that Google's investment was a step forward.
Lifelike, interactive digital characters, serving as mentors and role-playing actors, have been shown to significantly improve learner motivation and retention.
Since then, Digital Garage, Itochu Ventures, Mentor Equity and TEEC Angel have all joined in to bring the round to $1.6 million.
If there's anything we've learned from our months and months of due diligence and meeting with experts in the youth empowering, anti-bullying, mentoring, wellness, digital-learning and advocacy domains, it is that there is a tremendous amount of wonderful work that's been done long before we ever came onto the scene and we salute that work.
Ms. Saito -- who is also an adviser for the Digital Heroes Campaign, a new mentoring program by People magazine and America Online that will have celebrities act as online mentors for youths -- said such programs would also help rural youths who might otherwise find it hard to get advice from adults in various careers.
