Berlin, Germany. Nairobi, Kenya. eLearning Africa, the second Pan-African conference on ICT for development, education and training will be opened on Tuesday, May 29 by the Kenyan Minister of Education. The Hon. Prof. George Saitoti, will welcome the participants with a message of greeting. This was announced today by ICWE and Hoffmann & Reif, the organisers of the event. The eLearning Africa conference takes place from May 28 to 30 in Nairobi, Kenya.
Speakers at the opening ceremony also include the Hon. Kwame Ampofo Twumasi, Deputy Minister of Education, Science and Sports, Ghana, Ken Mbwaya, Managing Director, HP East Africa, and Esam M. Abulkhirat, ICT Senior Policy Officer, Human Resources, Science & Technology Department, African Union, Ethiopia. The opening plenary will be chaired by Prof. Karega Mutahi, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Education, Kenya. An introduction will be given by Prof. Crispus Kiamba, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Science and Technology, Kenya.
ICT-supported education is a core component of the development plans of most African governments. ICTs are being integrated into many national educational systems in order to reach the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) of “Education for All“. These efforts will be given special emphasis in both the plenaries and the conference programme in general.
“We see eLearning as a development accelerator needed in many countries in order to achieve the MDG. This is why we want to foster the emerging African eLearning community through a sustainable annual event that embraces all sectors”, explained Rebecca Stromeyer, project manager and managing director of ICWE on the expected outcomes of the conference. “People from education, training, government administrations, civil society organisations as well as corporations are represented at the event, which provides a unique platform for knowledge exchange and networking across geographical and cultural borders. With more than seventy percent of the participants coming from African countries, this year’s conference will again be a truly African event, offering a learning experience for all and especially for those coming from other continents.”
There are 308 speakers from 55 countries contributing to the agenda, including representatives from major development organisations such as UNESCO, UNEVOC, the Global Development Learning Network (GDLN), and the World Bank, as well as national and governmental institutions, mainly from Africa but also from Europe, Asia, and North America. The programme covers a wide range of topics, such as eLearning in medical education and the fight against HIV and AIDS, mobile learning, open source and open content, as well as eLearning in schools, higher education institutions, and in the public sector.
eLearning Africa is an annual conference organised by ICWE GmbH and Hoffmann & Reif, which focuses on ICT for development, education and training in Africa. Its aim is to establish the most relevant and most comprehensive international Pan-African capacity-building event for all stakeholders engaged in ICT-enhanced education and training. The first conference took place in 2006 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. eLearning Africa is organised in partnership with African governments, and a different country will serve as the venue each year.
Notes for editors
eLA - eLearning Africa, 2nd International Conference on ICT for Development, Education and Training
May 28 - 30, 2007
Venue: Safari Park Hotel, Nairobi, Kenya
Organisers: ICWE GmbH, www.icwe.net, Hoffmann & Reif www.hoffmann-reif.com
Contact: ICWE GmbH, info@elearning-africa.com,
Tel.: +49-30-327 6140
Press releases can be found at http://www.elearning-africa.com/press_release.php.
Pictures for download at http://www.elearning-africa.com/press_gallery.php.
ICWE GmbH
Beate Kleessen
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10625 Berlin
Tel:. +49-30-327 61420
Fax: +49-30-324 9833
beate.kleessen@icwe.net
press-service@icwe.net
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