INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON ICTS IN EDUCATION IN NIGERIA
July 6-9 2004

By

Centre for Information Technology and Development (CITAD)
Flat 3, First Floor, Zumunch Stores Building
BUK Road, Kofar Kabagu, Kano, Nigeria
[email protected]
www.citad.interconnection.org

Introduction
There is no doubt that ICTs have become central to the development agenda debate globally. The world is being reshaped and the evolving information society is become ubiquitous. Yet much needs to be understood about how best to engineer the information society to produce and inclusive, just and democratic world order. We need to research how and with what policies existing global inequalities in access to ICTs could be bridged so that all will equal opportunities to benefit from the development potentials. What shall be done to reverse the emerging trend that these globally inequalities are exacerbating development divide in the world?

The academic community should be in the forefront of this. While in the developed world, much research on ICTs in development is taking place, very little of it is happening here. Critical to this relative low level of engagement with the sector in Africa in particular is the poor state of ICT accessibility in most of the academic institutions of the continent. There is the need to strengthen interest in ICTs with the hope that the institutions and their researchers would be empowered to utilize them both as tools for research and administration, as well as subject of research. This is the focus of the conference on ICTs in Education in Nigeria being organized by the Centre for Information Technology and Development (CITAD) (www.citad.interconnection.org)

Objectives
The aim of the conference is to allow scholars and ICTs practitioners an opportunity to discuss on the role of ICTs in academic institutions. It hopes to specially:
· Provide road map of the research on ICTs in development in Nigeria
· An update on the level of ICT connectivity in institutions of Higher Learning in the country
· Establish a Network of Researchers interested in ICTs in Education and Development

The papers presented of the conference shall be published in the maiden edition of the Nigerian Journal of ICTs for Development (NIJID), which would thenceforth be published quarterly.

Sub-themes
1. ICTs as Research Tools
2. The State of ICT Connectivity in Nigerian Institutions of Higher Learning
3. ICTS as tools for Administration: Case Studies
4. Integrating ICTs in Higher Education
5. Requirements of pre-tertiary ICT education
6. Researching into ICTs in Development in Nigeria
7. Researching into ICTs in Development: International Perspectives
8. Networking and the Academic Community

Calendar
· Submission of Abstracts: 7th t April 20004
· Notification of selection of abstracts: 30th April 2004
· Submission of full papers: 30th May 20004
· Conference dates: 6-9, July 2004
Venue
The conference shall take place at the Conference Centre of the Centre for Democratic Research and Training, Mumbayya House, Bayero University, Kano

Submission of Abstracts
Researchers wishing to present papers at the conference are required to submit abstract of not more 800 words in length. All abstracts should be submitted as e-mail attachment (MS-Word Format) to [email protected] on or before 7th April 2004. Authors of selected abstracts shall be notified by 30th April 2004. They will be required to submit the full papers on or before 15th May 20004.

Other Information
For more information, contact the Secretary, Conference Organizing Committee ([email protected]) or write to P. O. Box 10210, Kano, Nigeria.