Dar es Salaam (TZ), June 2011 - eLearning Africa 2011 saw the celebration of the Technology in Government Awards (TIGA) in the "ICT in Education" category and has demonstrated that African countries are increasingly engaging in the development of ICT-based solutions for education and training. Over 1,400 participants from about eighty countries attended the recent sixth International Conference on ICT for Development, Education and Training.


This year's edition was held in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, where 322 speakers from 57 countries discussed and demonstrated best practices and presenting new ways of learning. Twenty-five ministers and deputy ministers and more than fifty high-level government officials from 21 countries throughout Africa convened at the eLearning Africa Ministerial Round Table to discuss the future role of ICTs in African education.

In line with the central conference theme, "Youth, Skills and Employability", Dr Bilal, the Vice President of the United Republic of Tanzania, pointed out that young people in Africa make up 37 per cent of the working-age population and sixty percent of the unemployed.

Whilst remarkable achievements were noted in terms of access and expansion of infrastructure for schools, colleges, vocational training institutions and polytechnics, the rapid increase of student enrolment has posed a number of challenges, such as a shortage of qualified teachers and limited access to library and Internet facilities.

Dr Bilal said that to address these challenges, it was imperative for African governments to invest in ICT in schools, colleges, and job-related training programmes.

Michael Trucano, Senior ICT and Education Policy Specialist at the World Bank, embarked on a tour of innovative uses of ICTs around the world, from novels published on mobile phones in Japan to Uruguay, which is the first country in the world to provide every single student with a computer. Mr. Trucano said that the effectiveness of ICT-supported learning could not always be measured, but he was optimistic that soon "all the world's content will fit in the palm".

At a high-profile event during the Conference, the second leg of the 2011 Technology in Government Awards (TIGA) in the "ICT in Education" category was celebrated. The awards are given in recognition of initiatives that exploit information and communication technologies (ICTs) for education and training in Africa.

The following projects won this year's awards in the "ICT in Education" category:

• The Speaking Book: This project makes education about critical issues accessible to all, regardless of literacy or education level. This "world first" was created by South Africans for Africans and focuses on rural, vulnerable, and excluded people living in disadvantaged regions of Sub-Saharan Africa and communities around the world. Improving health care is a top priority for Africa, and through the Speaking Books access to essential medical information for low literacy, rural, and vulnerable Africans is improved.
• Dr. Math, South Africa - Dr. Math is a mobile tutoring service that provides access to credible, personal, on-demand tutoring in the subject of Mathematics.
• eLimika eLearning programme, KENYA eLimika (a Kiswahili word for "get educated"), the vehicle through which Kenya Institute of Education (KIE) delivers its courses.
• Acaba - the training platform of the Open Academy of Angola, which provides a distance training space and collaborative working environment.