Post Conference Report
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POST CONFERENCE REPORT www.elearning-africa.com Organisers LE PALAIS DES CONGRÈS DE COTONOU MAY 23 – 25, 2012 COTONOU, BÉNIN Hosted by Platinum Sponsor Gold Sponsors Silver Sponsor Sponsors Republic of Benin Supported by Supporting African Participation Partners Official Carrier European EAST eLearning Africa Commission UNECA Scholarship Trust 7TH INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON ICT FOR DEVELOPMENT, EDUCATION AND TRAINING THE EVENT eLEARNING AFRICA 2012 eLearning Africa is the largest and most comprehensive capacity development IN A NUTSHELL event for ICT-enhanced education and training in Africa. The key networking event for education professionals, investors and providers of education and • 1483 participants from training in Africa, eLearning Africa enables participants to develop multinational 69 countries and cross-industry contacts and partnerships, as well as to enhance their knowledge, expertise and abilities. Experts from across Africa and the rest • Over 300 speakers and chairpersons from 50 countries of the world convene annually at eLearning Africa to discuss how to improve the practice of eLearning across a range of key sectors (including education, • 25 ministers and one head of healthcare, agriculture and security, to name but a few) and inspire new ideas in state from 10 countries (Angola, a field that is constantly innovating and evolving. Djibouti, Kenya, Malawi, Namibia, Niger, Sierra Leone, South Africa, 2 Tanzania and Zimbabwe) Held in Cotonou, Benin, this year’s conference was the 7th edition of eLearning Africa and 1,483 people from 69 countries took part. Of these participants, 23 • 55 exhibitors from 15 countries came from China to share their experiences of technology-enhanced learning and learn from those of others. The three countries with the most attendees were Nigeria, Benin and South Africa. 40% of participants spoke French and the conference was held in both English and French, with half of the sessions GEOGRAPHICAL offering simultaneous translation. REPRESENTATION Focusing on eLearning and Sustainability, eLearning Africa 2012 exploredGEOGRAPHICAL REPRESENTATION creative ways in which eLearning can support development and help to build a sustainable future. This overall theme was addressed through a range ofAfrica 89% sessions focusing on the following themes: Europe 6% GEOGRAPHICAL REPRESENTATION North America 3% Asia 2% GEOGRAPHICAL REPRESENTATION • Collaboration and Partnerships • Sustainable ICTs, Implementation Africa 89% and Integration Europe 6% • Sustainable Culture, Economy and Africa 89% North America 3% Society • Sustainable Pedagogical Europe 6% Asia 2% • Learning Platforms Approaches North America 3% Asia 2% • eLearning and Sustainable • Sustainable Professional Resources Development SECTORAL REPRESENTATION • The Future of Educational Sustainability • Sustainable Tools and Practices The sectoral composition of par- • ICTs for Sustainable Communities • Teacher Professional Development ticipants comprised stakeholders from all key areas connected with • Mobile Learning and Sustainability • Technology, Youth and Young eLearning in Africa. • Open Educational Resources Learners SECTORAL REPRESENTATION Academic 42% Corporate 27% Public Sector (Government/Int. Orgs) 25% COMMENT Civil Society (Association/NGOs) 6% SECTORAL REPRESENTATION “The conference was a great experience. I left with a very strong sense of belonging to a learning community. For the first time (after attending the 5th conference), Academic 42% I realised the responsibility of this community within the broader Education Corporate 27% community. I feel inspired and focused. Really looking forward to eLA 2013” Public Sector (Government/Int. Orgs) 25% Susanna Ackerman, Learnthings Africa, South Africa Civil Society (Association/NGOs) 6% 7TH INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON ICT FOR DEVELOPMENT, EDUCATION AND TRAINING PLENARY SESSIONS OPENING PLENARY eLearning Africa 2012 was opened by the Honorable Max Ahouèkè, the Minister of Communication and Information and Communication Technologies of Benin. Speaking before the Prime Minister of Benin, Pascal Irénée Koupaki, and a packed auditorium, Ahouèkè used the occasion to launch The eLearning Africa 2012 Report. The Report, which examines how Africans are using new technologies to enhance education and training across Africa, analyses data collected from 447 survey respondents and contains opinion pieces by a number of prominent commentators including traditional chiefs, investors and academics from across Africa. Emeritus Prof. Dr. Paulin J. Hountondji, Chairperson of the Council of Education of Benin, stated Benin’s ambition to “become the digital centre of Africa” and noted Benin’s pride in hosting the 7th edition of eLearning Africa. Minister Max Ahouèkè and Prof. Dr. Hountondji were joined by Mark Jordan, General Manager and Vice President EMEA, Wyse Technology, UK, and Prof. Sugata Mitra, Professor of Educational Technology, Newcastle University, UK and Visiting Professor, MIT Media Lab, Cambridge, USA. 2 Jordan explained that with there being over 800 million Facebook users 3 THE eLA CONFERENCE and smartphone ownership at 500 million worldwide, technology was now PROGRAMME IN A NUTSHELL undoubtedly the number one force bringing people together. He indicated that 64% of higher education CIOs expect to migrate more than 50% of their infrastructure to the cloud by 2015. Jordan referred to the constraining factors • 60 sessions identified in The eLearning Africa 2012 Report, highlighting the impact of limited bandwidth, lack of human resource capacity and limited electricity supply as • 4 plenary sessions key factors in sustainability. • 12 demonstration and best practice showcases Professor Sugata Mitra presented his experiences of self-organised learning • 7 Atchakpokjis (Knowledge environments, including his famous Hole-in-the-Wall and The Granny Cloud exchange sessions) projects. He called into question current schooling systems which are still • 12 pre-conference events based on dated Victorian standards that are quite set apart from the social, economic, political and technological realities of today. THE eLEARNING AFRICA 2012 REPORT Launched by Minister Max Ahouèkè during the opening plenary The eLearn session, The eLearning Africa 2012 Report provides an insight Africa 2 ing R 012 from 41 different countries in Africa into the way information and eport communication technologies are influencing the education and training landscape in Africa. Based on the survey responses of 447 eLearning practitioners, the Report references and maps the emergence of new technology access models which were Sponso red by: Suppo previously unimagined. rted by: According to the Report, teachers, lecturers, entrepreneurs and policymakers all have high expectations about the ability of new technologies to scaffold progressive change at both institutional and system-wide levels. 74% of respondents use ICT for classroom teaching and learning, and 48% have used mobile phones for education. The most significant constraint to eLearning at a national level cited by respondents is limited bandwidth. A lack of funds, limited electricity supply and insufficient human resource capacity were additional significant constraints. The government was identified as the most important change agent for accelerating ICT-enhanced learning. The eLearning Africa 2012 Report is available for free download at the following address: www.elearning-africa.com/media_library_publications_ela_report_2012.php 7TH INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON ICT FOR DEVELOPMENT, EDUCATION AND TRAINING PLENARY SESSIONS PLENARY B: TOWARDS AN INCLUSIVE KNOWLEDGE SOCIETY IN AFRICA? African countries still face many challenges as they try to reach the Millennium 4 Development Goals and build an inclusive knowledge society. Chaired by Prof François Adébayo Abiola, Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research, Benin, Thursday morning’s plenary session featured different opinions on how best to build knowledge societies in Africa and had a strong focus on the inclusion of rural communities. Expert speakers provided insights into Africa’s growing spirit of entrepreneurialism and sustainable 21st century learning initiatives. Fasil G. Bekele, Public Private Alliances Lead for Microsoft Sub Saharan Africa, presented examples from around the world of best practice in public private alliances aiming to achieve 21st century government goals such as affordable ICT access and employable skills. Theophilus E. Mlaki, Consultant, ICT for Development (ICT4D), Tanzania, outlined the lessons learnt from Tanzania’s efforts to use ICT to build inclusive knowledge societies, and emphasised the importance of making “people more knowledgeable through the use of ICT” and focusing on extending the reach to the rural poor. Father Godfrey Nzamujo, O.P., Songhai Regional Centre, Benin, spoke of his experiences with the Songhai Regional Centre and the initiatives that tackle the “triple challenge of poverty, environmental degradation and difficult demographic transition in Africa”, while Gilletta Gbanhoun Mouyabi, Director, AGeNTIC, Benin, outlined how eLearning and entrepreneurship can contribute to sustainable development. COMMENTS “eLearning Africa Conference is the largest ICT conference in the world. The conference gave me the opportunity to learn and share best practices in the use of ICT in education delivery and thus enhance my professional development. Indeed attending the conference was worthwile.” Christiana Enang, Federal Ministry of Education, Nigeria