OREANDA-NEWS.  The 2nd African Ministerial Forum on ICT Integration in Education and Training will take place in Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire, June 8-9, 2016. The theme for the second edition of this high-level event is: “Advancing inclusive knowledge societies in Africa to implement Africa’s Agenda 2063 and the SDGs”.

The Forum is hosted by the government of Cote d’Ivoire, through the Ministry of National Education, and is jointly organized with the Association for the Development of Education in Africa (ADEA), the Global e-Schools and Communities Initiative (GESCI), the African Development Bank Group (AfDB), Intel, UNESCO, the International Organization of La Francophonie (IOF) and Microsoft.

The high-level platform is meant to share knowledge and experiences on how to effectively and efficiently integrate ICTs in:

  • Providing universal access to quality education and relevant lifelong learning opportunities to all Africans;
  • Equipping learners with skills that empower them to become full actors of knowledge society;
  • Promoting, through education, a culture of digital literacy and creativity.

The forum also aims at providing a setting for developing partnerships that will help advance ICT integration in education and the development of knowledge societies in Africa.

This year’s edition will discuss the following topics:

  • Lessons learned from national ICT in education and training policies and strategies
  • ICT applications in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) teaching and learning
  • Promising models in ICT and Technical and Vocational Skills Development (TVSD) for youth employment and entrepreneurship
  • ICT integration, distributed leadership and policy coherence
  • Inclusive knowledge societies and the role of Education and ICT

Approximately 150 participants are expected at the Forum, including 20 African Ministers in charge of education, TVSD, higher education and scientific research. Development partners, research institutions, representatives of the private sector and civil society organizations will also be represented.