eLearning & ICT4D

The International Institute for Communication and Development (IICD) and the Ugandan government have signed an agreement to expand the Rural Information System programme, which helps farmers to increase their income through ICT-enabled crop-marketing services. So far, twenty-six existing Agricultural Cooperative Enterprises (ACEs) in isolated areas throughout Uganda have become part of the Rural Information System programme over the last eight years. These centres enable local farmers both to send and receive urgently needed production and market information. Now there are plans to expand the programme even further as the Ministry of Trade, Tourism and Industry (MTTI) prepares to build ten new centres in 2010.
More

In January 2010, in order to connect rural areas lacking any IT infrastructure to the Internet, the Fraunhofer FOKUS, a branch of Germany’s largest research organisation, the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft, will breathe life into the FOKUS NET4DC. Together with partners from target regions, this international centre for information and communication technologies in developing countries will develop and make available tailor-made IT infrastructures and communication networks. The robust technology is being developed in Germany, and a first successful pilot project was recently initiated in the Southern Province of Zambia.
More

“Simply sending computers to Africa is not enough.” This is the maxim of Digital Links, a social enterprise situated in London and Johannesburg. Based on a sound partnership model with governments and international corporations such as Barclays, BUPA, Cadbury’s, DFID, DHL, Lloyd’s, Nestle UK, Reuters, RM, and DELL, Digital Links wants to set up an efficient infrastructure, provide on-going support and maintenance, as well as access to eLearning tools, connectivity, and training in several African countries. Currently, a large-scale teachers’ endowment project is taking place in Zambia, the host country of eLearning Africa 2010.
More
Français

Kenyan farmers, who have suffered from a lack of practical information, are now smiling as they discover innovative information management tools. Reuben Kyama reports about BioVision’s Infonet for Kenyan farmers.
More

The recent election of US President Barack Obama has elicited an unprecedented frenzy of hope across Africa. With an African-American president in office, the majority of the continent’s 750 million people anticipate a new dawn in the realm of socio-economic and political affairs. Already, there is an emerging view that US relations with Africa are due to improve dramatically. And pointedly, during his inauguration, President Obama promised a radical shift in terms of America’s relationship with foreign allies. He called for new terms of engagement based on mutual trust to spur fruitful cooperation on all fronts to the benefit of all. In Kenya, leading ICT stakeholders met with government officials on Tuesday this week to discuss the future of the country’s ICT sector. Reuben Kyama reports from Nairobi.
More

The 2009 eLearning Africa conference in Senegal is expected to draw more than 1500 participants, with an estimated 80 percent coming from African countries. The conference organisers cordially thank the ST Microelectronics Foundation, Switzerland, for supporting African participation in 2009. With ICT learning projects in 16 countries - among them Congo Democratic Republic, Ethiopia, Tunisia, Morocco, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Uganda and Senegal - the foundation maintains a strong position in Africa to help people bridge the digital divide.
More

Dr Mor Seck en est convaincu : les technologies de l’information et de la communication (TIC) peuvent aider l’Afrique à se démocratiser. Dr Seck dirige le Centre d’Enseignement à Distance du Sénégal, qui fait partie du Réseau Global de Développement de l’Enseignement de la Banque Mondiale. Ce centre a déjà plus de 20 ans d’expérience à son actif dans le secteur public et les études supérieures. Dr Seck est un fervent promoteur des TIC pour l’éducation et la formation. Il sera un des éminents participants de la 4ème édition de eLearning Africa qui se tiendra à Dakar l’an prochain. Nous avons rencontré Dr Seck l’été dernier à Berlin et avons parlé avec lui de la façon dont le Sénégal aborde le développement des TIC.
En lire plus
English

“International conferences like eLearning Africa offer us valuable opportunities to network with partners, to exchange ideas and to initiate new processes”, says Dr Til Schönherr, project manager for eLearning strategy and management, media-didactic advice and training at InWEnt, Capacity Building International, Germany – a non-profit international organisation with worldwide operations dedicated to human resources development, advanced training and dialogue. In regard to InWEnt’s eLearning networks, eLA is the most important “place to be” in Africa. At the third eLA, InWEnt was intensely involved in UNEP’s pre-conference activities related to the usability of eLearning for environmental education.
More

What can we do to make ICT function successfully in education? What needs and gaps are there in certain regions? What capacity-building activities can we design to address them? These are only some of the questions to be discussed during the Planning Workshop on Capacity Building for ICT in Education in Africa held by Dr. Seong Geun Bae and Michael Trucano of the World Bank Institute on Wednesday, May 28th, 2008. The workshop is designed for education policymakers and ICT-in-education specialists from Ghana, Tanzania, Rwanda and Mozambique.
More

There are many different eLearning practices currently evident across Africa. However, Africa’s educational institutions do not exploit the potential of educational technologies fully, suggests a report which was published by ICWE, the Swedish Program on ICT for Developing Regions (SPIDER) and the ICT4D Collective at Royal Holloway, University of London, UK, just before the third eLearning Africa conference.
More

Microfinance is recognised as an effective development intervention in improving the livelihoods of poor and low-income people. In order to help disseminators and to improve essential qualification, in 2005 the Asian Development Bank Institute (ADBI), the Tokyo Development Learning Center (TDLC) of the World Bank and the United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) jointly established a blended-learning programme called Microfinance Training of Trainers (MFTOT).

At eLearning Africa 2008, Dr Jiping Zhang from TDLC will show how the MFTOT courses are designed and delivered, as well as what development impacts have been observed so far.
More

“Africa cannot afford to miss the knowledge revolution”, says Mathy Vanbuel, a Belgian IT expert who has been working on implementing Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) in Africa, Asia and Europe for the last two decades. Mathy explains why ICTs are crucial for the Continent’s development.
More

© IMARK    

The new Information Management Resource Kit (IMARK) eLearning module is intended to provide the knowledge and awareness required for those responsible for formulating improved information management strategies within their organisations. A French version of the module, produced by the Agricultural Research Centre for International Development (CIRAD) with UNESCO support, is now available.
More

Shelter for Africa, situated in Hamburg, Germany, is a non-governmental organisation that carries out non-for-profit projects for the people of the Republic of Sierra Leone in West Africa. The foundation is currently in the process of establishing a new radio station in Freetown - “Culture Radio” - to provide distance education programmes for people who would otherwise not be able to receive educational support. Young girls and boys without school education and their families are addressed, as well as school dropouts and young illiterate adults.
More

Intel has a long history of working to improve education worldwide, and its ongoing programmes prepare teachers and students for success in the global economy. As part of the Intel Education Initiative, the company invests one hundred million dollar per year in education in collaboration with governments and educators in fifty countries worldwide. Dr. Martina Roth, Director of the Intel Education Group for Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA), will take part in the roundtable discussion on partnerships in education at eLearning Africa. Ahead of the conference, we talked to her about Intel, education, and Africa.
More

Finding holistic and affordable models for eLearning is a great concern for Spider, the Swedish Program for Information and Communication Technology in Developing Regions. At eLearning Africa 2007, Spider associates Peter Mozelius from Stockholm University and Annika Andersson from Örebro University will speak about how to provide African learners with stimulating and accessible eLearning applications.

On a separate note, Spider has given a generous donation making it possible for a number of African participants to come to the conference. The organisers of eLearning Africa wish to take this opportunity to express their sincere thanks for this very significant contribution.
More

Known for its strong commitment to education in Africa, the HP company is still looking for opportunities to strengthen ICT-based learning environments across the Continent. Nina Wittrock from eLA News talked with Björn Weeber, Education Manager for Africa, about HP’s specific educational and training approach, current projects, and the company’s future prospects in Africa.
More

ICT literacy is key to development Dr. Grace Ongile is convinced. Grace leads the Kenyan branch of the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) initiative, which was established in 2001 as a vision and strategic framework for Africa’s renewal. Nina Wittrock from the eLA newsportal team talked to her about NEPAD’s efforts and successes in Kenya...
More

“We need more good baseline surveys for ICT4D projects”, says Tim Unwin, founder of the ICT4D Collective, an interdisciplinary group engaged in research in the use of ICT for development. Tim talked to Beate Kleessen from the eLA newsletter about his commitment to the ICT4D network, good partnerships, and ICT for education.
More