The first International Girls in ICT Day was marked on Thursday, April 26th, 2012, and at least five African countries joined in the festivities.  Established through a formal resolution by the International Telecommunication Union in 2010, the annual event aims to create a global environment that empowers girls and young women pursuing careers in the ICT field. Johanna Havemann reports The main celebration was […]

Originally scheduled to end on Friday, December 9th, after twelve days of intense talks, the COP17 climate change meeting went into overtime until negotiators eventually came to an agreement in the early hours of Sunday, December 11th 2011. Governments the world over are lauding the progress made on the continuation of the Kyoto Protocol, the Green Climate Fund and the new market mechanisms. However, […]

This year, for the first time at eLearning Africa (eLA), our Programme Team will be hosting a session entitled “My eLA”. We have had many discussions on the purpose and nature of eLearning Africa. So far, our conversations have led us to conclude that eLA has multiple personalities. We believe that her many personalities should be embraced and celebrated. We call on you to […]

Information and Communication Technology unlocks hidden talents. That is what happened to eLearning Africa participant Lois Mvula. She used to be a cleaner at a teachers’ college. Now she leads an IT technical team at the college. Here is her very personal story.

On February 25, 2011, UNICEF published its new flagship report “Adolescence: An Age of Opportunity” suggesting that Information and Communication Technologies could help save young people from being ‘left adrift by globalization’. On that very day Egyptian agitators used eMail, Twitter and Facebook to bring tens of thousands of teenage demonstrators into Tahrir Square for a synchronised demonstration with Egyptian and Tunisian flags.  The […]

  China plays a major role financing and supplying telecom and ICT equipment to Africa, a precondition for eLearning. Chinese companies have broken the monopoly of Western telecom giants in Africa, helped to bring down charges and contributed to the triumphal success of mobile phones on the continent. They have also donated educational communications hardware worth millions of dollars. However, China’s engagement has attracted […]

The United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) and the Government of Finland have announced the third Technology in Government in Africa (TIGA) Awards for 2011. These awards recognise African governments’ effective use of ICTs for public services. One of the awards – in the category on Improved Educational Services Through the Use of ICTs – is organised jointly with the eLearning Africa Conference […]

  Distance Learning can provide excellent opportunities to educate students in conflict zones. Regardless of ethnic, religious or political backgrounds, gender issues or geographical remoteness –all learners can be given access to high quality education. In sub-Saharan Africa, institutions, such as the African Virtual University, have worked beyond linguistic and cultural boundaries, indirectly promoting peace-building and inclusion even in heavily conflict-ridden countries, such as […]

IBM’s slogan “Education for a Smarter Planet” is being applied to transform educational systems in Africa, especially in Tanzania, where the firm has signed a collaboration agreement for adopting information technology in education, research and development. IBM will be presenting at eLearning Africa on the new technology of cloud computing. Mick Slivecko, IBM Global Education & Learning Industry, and Christoph Schwaiger, IBM Global Technology […]