Highway Africa News Agency

The organisers of "eLearning Africa" 2007 have now released the programme for the second annual conference on ICT for development, education and training. The event will take place from May 28 to 30 in the Safari Park Hotel in Nairobi, Kenya.

"We expect over 1000 e-learning and education experts from all over Africa, Asia, Europe and North America in Nairobi", says Rebecca Stromeyer, managing director of ICWE, the German company that organises "eLearning Africa" in cooperation with Hoffmann & Reif Consultants.

The eLearning Africa conference took place for the first time in Addis Ababa in May 2006. It brings together a network of decision makers from governments and administrations with universities, schools, governmental and private training providers, and important partners in development cooperation.

"eLearning Africa" "will help participants to keep up with all major issues and latest developments in ICT supported education in Africa. Delegates will be able to gather information that they can then apply to their own working context", comments Stromeyer.

"One of our main goals is to really help build a strong African e-learning community and we are glad that the Swedish program Spider as well as VVOB, the Flemish Association for Development Cooperation and Technical Assistance from Belgium, are providing considerable funding for participants from Africa who otherwise would not be able to attend", she continues.

A Comprehensive Agenda Africa is on the move, and 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 Goal of "Education for All". This theme will be given special emphasis in the opening plenary of the conference on Tuesday, May 29.

The programme covers a wide range of topics related to ICT and education issues in Africa, such as e-learning in medical education and the fight against HIV and AIDS, e-learning for informal education, mobile learning, open source and open content, as well as e-learning in schools, higher education institutions, and in the public sector.

Universities from all over the Continent are presenting ICT good practice and e-learning programmes, including the University of Ibadan, Nigeria, the African Virtual University, University of Zimbabwe, Tumaini University, Tanzania, and the University of the Western Cape, South Africa.

The 236 speakers from 50 countries include 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.

A demonstration village will highlight real examples of tools and services aimed at African educational providers. The pre-conference day on Monday, May 28, features workshops and seminars focusing several topics, such as teacher training with ICTs, research into technology-enhanced learning and cultural issues in e-learning.

Kenya To Host eLearning Africa 2007 The hosting country, Kenya, will be represented at "eLearning Africa" by high-level speakers from the Ministry of Education, the Universities of Nairobi and Maseno, as well as major Kenya-based global development organisations.

"We are glad to have the strong support of the Kenyan government for the organisation of this year?s event", comments Rebecca Stromeyer, - "eLearning Africa" is a rotating event hosted every year by a different African country and it is always organised in a partnership with the relevant Ministries. "eLearning Africa" addresses the whole of Africa and from the participants "perspective, the rotating event allows them to gain a better understanding of the diverse African environments and the requirements, needs, and achievements of the various host countries", Stromeyer explains.