eLearning Africa calls Round Table of Ministers

A round table of ministers and representatives from all across Africa is due to convene at eLearning Africa.

The sixth of its kind to date, this yearly meeting offers a chance for governments to draw on the knowledge they have built up collectively over 20 years.

African educators, still challenged with the mammoth task of providing basic education, will take the opportunity to share progress reports and policies.

In today's volatile world, where new technologies have dramatic implications for policy development, such pan-African communication is vital in ensuring geographically distant countries facing similar problems can compare experiences.

Government representatives and ICT experts will hear progress reports delivered by a panel of ministers, as well as speeches from "global education superstar" Sugata Mitra; Luís Silveira Pinto of JP - inspiring knowledge; and Harry de Backer, minister counsellor of the EU Delegation to the African Union.

Policy and Innovation in Education in Africa is this year's theme. At a time when governments are getting involved more than ever in the growth of ICTs - with Kenya's National Master Plan, Namibia's Vision 2030, and the rise of African hubs - it is all the more vital for ministers to be able to learn from each other.

The Round Table has three stated goals: to review the African experience of transformative ICT in Education policy development to date; to discuss emerging trends in the way African learners are learning, under the increasing influence of innovative technologies; and to share ideas on appropriate policy responses to the influence of rapid technological change on the African learning landscape

Taking place before the opening plenary of eLearning Africa 2013, from 9:30 to 16:30 on May 29, the information and ideas exchanged at the Ministerial Round Table will inform much of the intense debate and discussion the conference is known for.