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Photos by Adam
Rogers/UNCDF

Halfway to the 2015 deadline, there has been clear progress towards implementing the Millennium Development Goals, a set of global commitments to lift millions of people out of extreme poverty. But their overall success is still far from assured, a progress report by the United Nations has found.
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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.
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The Republic of Ghana, celebrating its fiftieth birthday this year, is known as one of the most stable countries on the African continent. Not least because of international investors’ trust in its democracy, Ghana has a flourishing economy. According to World Bank numbers, Ghana’s Information Communications Technology (ICT) sector has registered one of the most significant growth rates in Africa.

Ghana also has made good progress in preparing the ground for further proceedings in eLearning, and eLearning Africa takes great pride in the country’s willingness to host the next edition of the Conference in 2008. Delighted with the result of eLearning Africa 2007, Ghanaian presenters like Daniel Nettey, International Institute for Information Technology (INIIT), have already signalled their enthusiasm in contributing to the upcoming event: “eLearning Africa 2007 has been a step in the right direction for Africa. Keep up the good work, and you can count on my team anytime to assist in any way to bring ICT to a complete realization in the African continent.”

In the following, eLA provides a general introduction into the country’s educational successes and future challenges.
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In Kiswahili, Harambee means “Let’s all pull together!” It was Kenya’s first President, Jomo Kenyatta, who introduced an informal self-help movement based on this concept. His shouts of “haaa-ramm-bee” motivated many people to undertake community action. eLearning Africa 2007 wanted to continue with the original idea – to provide conference attendants with a flexible, interesting, and fuss-free platform to get things started.
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In the Kenyan Village of Mbita, sixty fifth graders of Point Primary School and their three teachers have helped Eduvision, an eLearning solution company situated in Switzerland, to develop an innovative ICT platform and corresponding software for handheld computers. The company’s applications are mainly designed to deliver curriculum content instead of using “oldish” textbooks to enrich the learning experience and to add locally relevant information more easily. At eLearning Africa 2007, Karim Toledano, CEO of Eduvision, will give closer insights into his African project.
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The Midlands State University Zimbabwe is looking for academics who can review articles on technology in education in a university publication…
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Presently, South African schools are at very different stages of ICT implementation, ranging from rudimentary to very advanced. To get the ball rolling and to foster computer literacy in its schools, South Africa’s Province Gauteng recently held a competition for eLearning initiatives. At eLearning Africa 2007, the two award-winning schools – Roshnee Primary School and Rosettenville Central Primary School – will present some of their achievements.
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Nokia is utilizing mobile phones for learning purposes in a multifaceted way. In Africa, the company is bringing down the affordability barrier through its innovative, easy-to-use handsets with features that support phone sharing and coverage extension to rural areas. Nokia terminals also go beyond basic voice and messaging, offering applications for learning and data sharing. At eLearning Africa, Dr. Adel Besrour, Nokia Siemens Networks, Tunisia, will give deeper insights into Nokia’s own eLearning approach.
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South Africa faces many challenges in incorporating information and communication technology (ICT) in its education system, including limited access to technology, a lack of teacher computer literacy, and a need for methodologies to help students use technology. However, with the Intel Teach Programme, South African teachers are learning to effectively integrate technology in the classroom and bring 21st century skills such as digital literacy, problem solving, critical thinking, and collaboration to students. At eLearning Africa Dr. Martina Roth, Director of the Intel Education Group for Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA), will provide an overview of the company's programmes to help prepare students for today's global opportunities. Intel is gold sponsor of eLearning Africa 2007.
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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.
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Although Rwanda has only 8.6 million inhabitants and an area of 26,338 km2, most of which is devoted to agricultural, the country can nonetheless be regarded as a little giant in terms of ITC: On the basis of its farsighted ICT strategy, Rwanda has already managed to establish itself among the leading e-countries on the African continent. eLearning Africa 2007 is going to highlight some of the country’s lighthouse projects in the fields of education and medical training.
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E-Learning for Kids, a global nonprofit foundation dedicated to providing free learning online or via CD-ROM for children 5-12, has partnered with To Be Worldwide, who operates facilities in partnership with local institutions, to provide their courseware at the Takoradi Educational Resource Centre in Ghana.
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The Italian NGO WITAR, a gathering of alumni from the oldest technical college in Italy, the ITIS Alessandro Rossi, has supported a technical lyceum in Burundi since 2003. Paolo Brunello, manager of the eLearning program of the Burundi school, reports on the project …
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The objective of this open platform is to provide users with training and capacity-building resources on literacy and other subjects. It will also provide a space to share training material.

Developed by a variety of stakeholders worldwide in co-operation with UNESCO, the platform advocates open content in non-formal education. Most of the training programmes have open licenses which make them accessible to all for teaching and learning. Besides literacy, the subjects covered include computers, business, environment and community development.
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Tofrraace is designed to reinforce the professional capacities of broadcasters and media practitioners in Africa. Established as an eLearning platform by the Mediafrica.Net initiative, it offers a variety of topics of shared interest. Recently Tofrraace started a course called "Radio for Peacebuilding”. Michel Philippart from the Catholic Media Council (CAMECO), Aachen, Germany, joined the project as a consultant. At eLearning Africa 2007, he will talk about the features of TOFRRAACE in detail.
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UNESCO and Hewlett-Packard have launched a project to help reduce the brain drain in African universities and research institutions. The project will establish links between researchers who have stayed in their countries and those who have left.
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The Kenyan Center of the Global Development Learning Network (GDLN) will be inaugurated during the second eLearning Africa conference. It will join the GDLN as the eleventh center in Sub-Saharan Africa offering knowledge, information, and skills training through workshops, seminars and courses specifically targeted at practitioners in the development sector. Mwangi Machira, consultant with the Global Development Learning Network of the Africa Region in the World Bank, provides insight into the GDLN’s efforts towards Africa.
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Radio penetration is relatively high in Cameroon. With about eighty percent of the households having a radio, it is the most common communication technology in the West African country. Compared to computer penetration - which is quite low - radio can provide excellent educational opportunities. Protege QV, a Cameroonian organisation working for the betterment of the community through information sharing, trainings, and research, has developed radio-based training for women entrepreneurs to support them in setting up small businesses. Sylvie Siyam and Avis Momeni from PROTEGE QV, have sent us a report on a project they have recently carried out in Upper Nkam in Cameroon…
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In the VIP ‘07 project – Visualizing Issues in Pharmacy – pharmacy and graphic design students from around the world collaborating online to raise public awareness of critical health issues in Kenya. VIP is an iniative of the Omnium project, a research group based at the College of Fine Arts at the University of New South Wales in Australia. The educational project is free of charge and students educators and health or design professionals wishing to be involved in VIP can register their interest at the project website.
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Seventy-five percent of the poor people in our world depend on agriculture to survive, a fact that strengthens the need for sustainable and non-polluting agriculture. To increase agricultural growth and farm productivity in the developing countries, the Consultative Group for International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) provides scientific research. The record of achievements is impressive.

New Rices for Africa (NERICAs) were planted on 23,000 hectares, and their use is spreading across the Continent. Six thousand hectares have been planted in Uganda, and in Guinea alone, NERICAs have saved an estimated $13 million in rice import bills. African producers are being enabled to access international pigeonpea markets and last but not least, the CGIAR is providing training for over 75,000 developing country scientists and researchers worldwide. At eLearning Africa, Jan Beniest, Principal Training Scientist and Training Unit Manager at the World Agroforestry Centre in Nairobi, Kenya introduces the CG Learning Resources produced by CGIAR.
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Oracle’s experience in implementing eLearning solutions in the school classrooms of Africa, both in government and private sector organisations, has shown that eLearning is yet another “leapfrog” technology to bring instant access to world-class education. At eLearning Africa 2006, Oracle will provide an overview of the NEPAD E-schools initiative and present a case study on the use of eLearning to develop workforces in the private sector. The focus is to demonstrate how this development has impacted directly on company structure, remuneration, and productivity.
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Thousands of African schoolchildren and their teachers are set to benefit from an Open University initiative to bring distance education to some of the remotest parts of the continent. Teacher Education in Sub-Saharan Africa (TESSA) will provide online training that educators can download and print out for use in schools across Africa. The project, which will begin in South Africa, Nigeria and Tanzania, will provide a comprehensive bank of courses and professional development programmes focusing on the teaching of language and literacy, numeracy, primary science, life skills and social studies/arts.
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Presenters and chairpersons at the forthcoming eLearning Africa conference are now busy preparing their presentations and sessions for eLA 2006 in Addis Ababa. Some of them are using eLearning tools for enhancing their session before and after the conference. Here we present one of these sessions, the pre-conference workshop organised by Sebastian Hoffmann entitled “How to produce an instructional module on the Internet“. The workshop will take place at the “Graduate School of Telecommunications and Information Technology - GSTIT“ in Addis Ababa from 22 to 23 May, 2006.
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eLearning Africa enjoys the support of international development agencies, and their financial generosity enables African participants to take part in the conference. In this article, eLearning Africa is pleased to introduce Sweden’s SPIDER.
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Access to computers and the Internet is growing in Africa – but high-quality educational courseware is still out of reach for many schools, children, teachers, and parents. Thanks to the support of many volunteers, corporations, and NGOs, free courseware is now available to children in Africa through the Internet or on CD-ROM.
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The Department of Computer Science at the University of Botswana has recently won the Microsoft Research Grant for a project on a healthcare information system through mobile technologies. The African researchers will explore how the latest wireless and mobile technologies can help under-served communities by providing health care information and education. The University of Botswana is on its way to becoming a leading academic centre of excellence in Africa and the world. eLearning as well as state-of-the-art information and communication technologies are driving this evolution. Daniela Giannini-Gachago and Professor Amos Thapisa will present facts and figures on the University’s eLearning programme at eLearning Africa 2006.
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Every year, more than half-a-million women die during pregnancy and childbirth as do nearly eleven million children less than five years of age. These sad facts raise a clear call for awareness regarding the challenges we face as a global community in improving maternal and newborn health. They also draw attention to the pressing need to meet the Millennium Development Goals of reducing maternal deaths by three quarters and child mortality by two thirds by 2015.

To support reproductive health and obstetrics education worldwide, the World Health Organization (WHO) has established the Reproductive Health Library (RHL), an online resource providing multimedia educational content. Asa Cuzin, Technical Officer from the WHO’s Department of Reproductive Health and Research, will introduce the RHL at eLearning Africa 2006.
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Seven of the world's largest distance education universities—where students and faculty alike all use some form of computer-assisted learning—are located in developing countries. For these communities, educational resources available via the Internet can offer cutting-edge applications of cyberspace. Yet roadblocks exist for the full success of online education for higher education. Meanwhile, the use of online delivery in corporate training is predicted to overtake higher education usage in developing countries, becoming an estimated $150 billion industry by 2025. A Special Report carried out by the Development Gateway Foundation takes a look at the state of the art of Online Learning in the developing countries.
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In January 2005 the MIT Media Lab Chairman Nicholas Negroponte announced the $100 laptop project for school children in poor nations at the World Economic Forum at Davos, Switzerland. His initiative is called “OLPC - One Laptop Per Child” - is very ambitious and has engendered lively and sometimes controversial discussions all over the world.
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Africa is the continent most affected by HIV and AIDS. Especially Sub-Saharan Africa, which has just over 10% of the world’s population, is home to almost two-thirds of all people living with HIV - close to 26 million people. Each year more than three million new infections will increase these already horrifying figures. Millions of people have already died of the disease; twelve million children have lost their parents. This dramatic situation demands strong and effective action from the health sector.
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European R & D projects have started to include African partners. A well-defined inclusive approach of European IST projects, directed toward developing countries, is however just in its start-up phase. eLearning Africa supports the inclusion of counterparts in developing countries in the forthcoming IST programmes and will become a meeting point for ICT and IST stakeholders both from Africa and Europe embarking on new joint R&D networks.
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