With a geographic base in nine southern African countries, financial underpinnings of about fifteen million Units of Account (1 UA = 1 US$1.48) from the African Development Fund, and a mature development strategy, the Open and Distance Learning Project launched by the Southern African Development Organization (SADC) secretariat in 2007 provides a paradigm for how a large-scale capacity-building effort should come into being. The […]
Field Stories
ICTs are empowering street children in Kenya
A pioneering project aimed at training ICT skills is transforming the lives of children who live in the streets of Eldoret, an agriculturally rich town in Kenya’s lush Rift Valley region. Led by SNV, a Dutch development agency, in collaboration with the “Ex-Street Children Community Organisation” (ECCO), a group of formerly homeless young people, the initiative provides street children with basic computer skills, thereby […]
Building a robust IT programme at Nkumba University
In Entebbe, on the Northern shores of Lake Victoria, sits one of Uganda’s few private higher-education institutions: Nkumba University. Until a short time ago, the University staff faced tremendous administrative obstacles with respect to their ICT equipment. Budget restrictions and growing maintenance and electricity costs highlighted the need for an innovative solution to address the challenges that this progressive university had to […]
Rural information systems boost Ugandan farming
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 […]
A new world of possibility for those most in need
Nestling in the beautiful Ezulwini Valley in Swaziland, St. Mary’s High School educates over 500 students. The majority are from “child-headed” families, in which one or more children have taken over as the head of their household and fend for themselves without any adults to look after them. In view of its tight budget for acquiring technology, the school was looking for […]
African Virtual University launches ten-country distance learning facility
Ten more African universities are now connected to the largest network of Open Distance and eLearning institutions on the Continent – the African Virtual University. With the launch phase of the ten-country distance learning facility, which started in October 2009 and will last until early 2010, Africa’s most innovative virtual platform for higher education will provide thousands of African students with access to quality […]
Digital Links: 30,000 notebooks for Zambian teachers
“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 […]
“A Brilliant Mix of People, Opinions and Solutions”
Oracle and the Oracle Education Foundation (OEF) support over 1.2 million students in 91 countries each year through the Oracle Academy and ThinkQuest programmes. Partnerships with governments and institutions around the world help students to develop 21st-century skills and meet the growing demand for a skilled workforce. Learn more about what Christopher Binns, Oracle Education Foundation, thought of this year’s eLearning Africa conference and […]
Preparing the Jamaican youth for the global marketplace
Jamaica’s future economic prosperity and economic growth is underpinned, to a large extent, by the capacity of the education and training systems to upgrade the skills and competencies of the emerging and existing workforce. As Jamaica increasingly integrates its economy into regional and global markets, new demands are emerging, driven by competitive labour dynamics. At the same time, there is a known skills shortage […]
Evolving education
The Shuttleworth Foundation is a South African organisation that invests in social, technical and policy innovation in the fields of education and technology. The Foundation works through active partnerships with local and international organisations. The Shuttleworth Foundation was founded upon an open philosophy that includes the promotion of open source, open standards and open information access with the belief that sharing stimulates change and […]