Thesis · 2026-08-22
Poorer European countries educate children. Richer European countries harvest them.
Digital poverty in schools is a primary driver of youth emigration from Ukraine, Moldova, Serbia, Montenegro, rural Romania and the Western Balkans. This is not charity. It is an economic intervention.
Illustrative — not a RecyclicTech delivery photo.The transfer is already priced
Westminster Foundation for Democracy estimates that the Western Balkans lose between €840 million and €2.46 billion a year in education costs when young people leave. Serbia alone has been put at €1.2 billion a year.
IOM’s World Migration Report 2026 is blunt: without immigration, population sizes in countries such as Germany and Italy would have peaked even sooner. The sending classroom pays. The receiving labour market collects.
This is not charity
A working laptop in Kharkiv, Botoșani, Orhei, rural Serbia or northern Montenegro is not a gesture. It is a skill input. Better devices → better digital skills → higher local employability → more people who can stay.
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