Africa’s leading forum for the technology-assisted learning industry, e-Learning Africa, will on May 29th-31st be celebrating the rise of Made in Africa technology solutions in Windhoek, Namibia, at the 2013 edition of its annual conference.
Now in its eighth year, e-Learning Africa will be bringing together a wide range of perspectives on Information & Communications Technology (ICT) for development, education and training. The conference will also be preceded by the annual e-Learning Africa round table meeting of education and ICT ministers from across Africa.
“This year our focus will be on innovation and we are all really proud that some of the most exciting and innovative new solutions in education have been pioneered and developed in Africa”, says Rebecca Stromeyer, founder of e-Learning Africa and Executive Director of ICWE.
Africa is experiencing a technological surge and it is having a dramatic effect on education throughout the Continent. Tech hubs are blossoming, new mobile devices and apps are being designed and produced in Africa, by Africans, and Africa’s e-Learning market is now the fastest-growing in the world.
This local innovation reveals itself in many forms. Expert speakers at the conference will talk on such diverse issues as African MOOCs, e-Learning in refugee contexts, technology’s role in preserving oral traditions and imaginative solutions to lack of broadband access.
The overarching themes of the conference, tradition, change and innovation, set up a tension which these speakers will explore in many different and fascinating ways. Erin Hayba, the Associate Community Services Officer at UNHCR, will show the results of his work in the Dadaab refugee camp, Kenya, where the installation of solar-powered ICTs in 39 schools, and an innovative community-based maintenance and sustainability program, have overcome the traditionally problematic language barriers in the camp and improved the prospects of 80,000 young people.
Mignon Hardie of the FunDza Literacy Trust, South Africa will be talking about the impact of mobile networks on literacy and literature. Her organisation’s creative writing platform shares quality teen fiction among young South Africans and encourages them to share stories – creating their own African content.
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