StarAfrica: Could you please introduce eLearning Africa?

eLearning Africa was launched six years ago and has established itself as the most comprehensive conference on ICT-supported education and training on the African continent. We move to a different country each year, and we offer a rich program of workshops, sessions and best-practice demonstrations in English and French, covering all aspects of eLearning.

 The main idea is to bring together a wide variety of stakeholders from all professions and sectors, be it teaching, healthcare, agriculture, banking or academia, to learn, share and network. Everyone is invited to connect and get engaged in the debates - teachers or students, ministers or government officials, university researchers or business people, training and development specialists or technology providers. Important international organisations such as UNESCO-UNEVOC, development agencies and universities are represented - but also grassroots associations. Multinational companies such as Microsoft or IBM present their solutions to education and training next to local exhibitors.

Participant figures have more than doubled - from around 800 at the debut event in Addis Abeba, Ethiopia, in 2006 to around 1800 delegates in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania 2011.  And we are very proud to have 70 to 80 percent African participation. Only proposals with relevance to Africa are accepted.

 People tell us that they leave the conference with fresh stimuli and new ideas - and plenty of valuable contacts and business cards.

 What does ICWE stand for?

ICWE is short for “International Conferences, Workshops & Exhibitions”. Our multilingual team develops designs and stages projects and events in the field of learning and training, with particular emphasis on ICT integration. We have organized projects, conferences, seminars, workshops and exhibitions in nearly 50 locations around the world.

We have various flagship events on the theme of education and ICT such as eLearning Africa or Online Educa Berlin.

We also offer a wide range of communication services, and we are an official Partner in several major projects of the European Commission.

Why did you choose to focus this programme “eLearning Africa” on the African continent?

The story goes back 17 years ago when we first established “Online Educa Berlin”, now one of the leading global conferences on ICT-supported learning and training (to take place from November 30th – December 2^nd this year). This conference takes a very wide perspective and covers the latest trends in the international eLearning industry.

 The idea for eLearning Africa came up in this context, about seven years ago, when governments and public partnerships on the Continent got involved in building an Internet infrastructure for Africa. Our team felt that sharing knowledge in this field would soon become a pressing interest, and that there was a demand for a distinct African conference.

 So we started eLearning Africa in 2006, not really knowing what to expect, but we took the risk. We had the energy, the enthusiasm, and the passion for it. We had estimated approximately 350 participants but this number that was far more than doubled in the end.

 We were right – there was and there still is a huge need for knowledge exchange as well as a vivid interest in eLearning in Africa.

 What are your short terms objectives?

As far as the conference organisation is concerned, my first short term objective is that everything will run smoothly.

 This may sound self-evident but organising a conference for 1,200 to 1,800 participants in a different country and a new location every year is a major challenge. We can never build on past experiences with respective suppliers and conference facilities. At the same time, we do make a point of working with local suppliers and “buying locally”, even if at times it would be much easier and in many cases cheaper bringing in conference collateral and expertise from abroad.  Whilst for our Berlin conference, we know the location, the suppliers, so we can improve every year, eLearning Africa is always a challenge, with new people and new scenarios every year.

My second short term objective is that the conference programme will be successful, will inspire participants or stimulate new partnerships.

The mid-term to long term objectives are to raise awareness in the field of ICT-enhanced learning in Africa, to build a community of practice, share resources and support African specialized research. The ultimate aims are to encourage collaborations and projects and support development outlasts.

The premier annual conference on ICT is hosted by Tanzania this year. Why did you choose Tanzania?

Generally speaking, we work in partnership with local governments every year, and we usually have different governments willing to host eLearning Africa. These realise that we bring a successful conference to their country, we engage over 1000 – 2000 people every year. Host countries can take advantage of the experts and organisations coming in and benefit from the exchange. We also try to help develop capacities in specific fields, for example this year, we are organising a workshop for the tourism industry involving the local government in Zanzibar. We bring experts on tourism management and allow local people to attend.

 When we choose a new host, we try to be fair by alternating between East, West and Southern Africa. It is important to rotate across the Continent in order to reach as many people as possible. For the same reason our conferences are bilingual English/French. Our first host country was Ethiopia, then we had Kenya (East Africa), Ghana and Senegal in West Africa, Zambia in the South, and this year we are back in the East, in Tanzania.

 The other aspect is the infrastructure that already exists. There would be no point of going to a country where there is no attention paid to ICT, or activities supported by different institutions.

 Tanzania already has a large number of projects taking place from e-Health to agriculture and education. It has recognised ICTs as a key accelerator to development and set itself the ambitious goal to become a hub for ICT infrastructure. With the landing of the new international submarine fibre optic cables, this plan seems to be taking shape. We’d like to share this engagement with the local and the pan-African community and include these projects in our showcase.

 Basically, by moving around Africa, being truly pan-African, we offer everybody a chance to engage. We choose a country which has a good infrastructure, airports, accommodation, where flights are not too expensive, especially those within Africa. This is not always easy to find.

What role do the youth of the Continent play in this programme?

“Youth, Skills & Employability” is our central theme this year. We offer more than a dozen dedicated youth sessions and presentations on a broad range of youth topics such as “African Youth and Digital Identity”, “Using Technology for Multi-Skill Development” or “Family Literacy, eBook Clubs and Learning with Grandma”, to name just a few. One session is completely owned by young Africans.

 We chose this focus because youth unemployment is a huge challenge all over the world and in Africa with its very young population the problem is particularly virulent. At eLearning Africa, we will discuss effective strategies to tackle the shortage of skills and create jobs.

We will also have university students who attend, often they are PhD students from the neighbouring countries doing research. To help low-income students who are not able to travel from, say, Gabon to Tanzania to take advantage of the the e-Learning Africa networks, we have recently launched EAST, the eLearning Africa scholarship trust.

 We also always involve local students to help us during the conference so they are able to attend the sessions while ensuring that the conference organisation works out.

What is the main goal?

The main goal is learning, sharing, networking – not only for high class experts but for participants from all sectors, all levels and all walks of life. Many people tell us that in the six years eLearning Africa has been in existence, it has already made a huge difference. We have helped to create a new pan-African community of practice; we have introduced and supported new collaborations, networks and partnerships.

We are now hoping that our community of practice is growing into a community of excellence. Year by year, we see the quality of the proposals submitted in response to our Calls for Papers reaching higher levels. Both in terms of the quality of these papers and their overall number, there is a huge difference compared to six years ago. And with the presentations, our conference programs develop to new standards.

According to you, what could be the best strategy to reduce the unemployment rate among young workers in Africa?

Youth unemployment is a worldwide concern. The general issue is how to deal with young people who leave school – those who don’t complete the full schooling cycle as well as those who complete it but who can’t find work or can’t move on to university. These are major problems in rich and in poor countries alike but even more so in Africa, South America, Asia or the Middle East because they have a much larger number of young people than Europe or North America.

 My view is that there are different steps that need to be taken. One is that the private sector needs to take a more active role in education rather than just rely on the government. Businesses should have an interest in young people’s education – after all, they are their future employees, clients or supporters of their organisations.

 Learning entrepreneurial skills is another aspect to encourage… not everybody needs a university degree. In Africa for example, agriculture is still the mainstay of the economy, two thirds of the workers are engaged here. There is so much land, so if young people living in rural areas are happy with that, agriculture could be the best way to make a living. But they need to be motivated and supported, they need to learn to create wealth for themselves. There are many roads that lead to Rome.

Do you think that eLearning is a good solution for people who cannot attend school or pay for the university fees?

Frankly - we organise conferences about eLearning and I strongly believe in ICT’s to create, support and promote a knowledge society. But if people can not afford to attend school, they might not have access to the Internet either. That is the reality.

 Personally, if you ask me what I believe is more important, I would say teachers. Good teachers who inspire their pupils and who are dedicated to their profession deserve appreciation and respect but our societies do not honor them enough. Teachers need to be able to be proud of their role in society, they need room for professional and personal development, and they need sufficient compensation. There should be incentives for the brightest and most creative people of a country for entering or staying in the profession.

 This aside, the Internet allows us to have access to informal and self-directed learning, which is not part of a directive from above. It allows us to learn anytime and anywhere and in whatever stage of life we happen to be; it supports the concept of lifelong learning. Today I can tap into information and knowledge on my Smartphone anytime, as can my children.

The access to informal, just-in-time and self-motivated learning is a fantastic development but still very much a privilege. This opportunity should be available to all – in Africa, in Europe, or anywhere else in the world.