ict4d

When asked recently for his 2007 highlights, Belgian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Karel de Gucht, identified the March 2007 Brussels Conference on Good Governance. In his interview with Belgian newspaper "De Standaard", de Gucht states "Probably the international conference on Good Governance that we organized in Brussels, with Liberian President Ellen Sirleaf-Johnson as a speaker. The conference was broad in its approach, the whole world was present and this potentially has impact on the longer term. We don't only have to talk about the security of countries, but also about human security: cluster bombs, water, good governance." ATiT supported the conference through the provision of a live web site and multimedia. For more information about the event, visit the conference web site http://www.improvinggovernance.be

The Indonesian Minister of Education, Dr. Bambang Sudibyo, recently launched the large-scale BERMUTU Programme to upgrade teachers via an extensive videoconferencing network. This network, utilising sites from the GDLN and Inherent networks, linked 15 locations across three different time zones stretching from Aceh in the western tip of Indonesia to Jayapura in the east. Support and training for the participating sites was provided by Mathy Vanbuel and Sally Reynolds during a two week long visit to Jakarta culminating in the event which took place on 18th December.

The Indonesian Government will launch and disseminate information about the new BERMUTU Programme (Better Education through Reformed Management and Universal Teacher Upgrading Project) on December 18th through an event linking 14 local sites via the GDLN and Inherent videoconferencing networks. This major national event will bring together leading national figures, local representatives, provincial and district staff. Mathy Vanbuel and Sally Reynolds are providing support to the Ministry of National Education in the lead-up to this event.

eLearning Africa 2008, takes place from May 28 to 30, 2008 in Accra, Ghana. This will be the 3rd International Conference on ICT for Development, Education and Training, following highly successful conferences in Ethiopia (2006) and Kenya (2007). The deadline for receipt of proposals to actively play a role in the conference agenda is Friday, December 7, 2007. For more information, visit the conference web site http://www.elearning-africa.com/index.php

infoDev and the Commonwealth of Learning (COL) have released a really useful second set of draft country reports from the on-going Survey of ICT and Education in Africa, a comprehensive study surveying the current landscape of ICT in education initiatives in Africa.

Sally Reynolds and Mathy Vanbuel, ATiT, were both involved in the eLearning Africa Conference in Addis (Ethiopia) from 24 till 26 May 2006. The conference attracted over 800 experts and decision makers from over 80 countries (but with a large majority from African countries) and certainly sparked a lot of enthusiasm with the attendees. More information and conclusions on the ICWE eLearning Africa website.

Read Prof. Tim Unwin's very interesting report on Partnerships in Information and Communication Technologies for Development (ICT4D) recently published by UNESCO. This report draws on Tim's wealth of know-how and experience in this area, much of it drawn from his pioneering work in Imfundo. You can access this new publication from http://www.ict4d.org.uk

At the Conference "ICT for Capacity-Building: Critical Success Factors" held in UNESCO Paris from 11 until 13 May 2005, Nicholas Negroponte presented a demo version of the cheap computer. The device is aimed to cost less than 100 USD or less than 85 Euros and could potentially revolutionise the uptake of ICT at all levels of education on a global scale.

If you are interested in finding out more about how information and communication technology is being used to improve the quality of education in the developing world, then we recommend you to subscribe to the weekly newsletter edited by Neil Butcher and distributed by SANTEC. It gives a great overview of developments, initiatives and the reality of introducing ICT in the development context. Provocative, comprehensive and highly informative, all you have to do is send an email to: neilshel@icon.co.za with a request to be added to the Newsletter.

You are also welcome to join SANTEC; membership is free. See http://www.santecnetwork.org. Any individual or organisation anywhere in the world with an interest in educational technology and eLearning in developing environments - with an initial focus on Africa - is most welcome to join.

Mathy Vanbuel was part of a team from the Ghana Ministry of Education Teacher Education Division and Imfundo (DfID) visiting the Northern and Upper Regions in Ghana on a mission to explore the possibilities to enhance the training of untrained teachers by means of ICT enhanced Open and Distance Learning.