UniForum SA's social responsibility arm will this month sponsor Africa's largest gathering of high-level policy-makers, decision-makers and practitioners from education, business and government sectors.
CoZa Cares, responsible for corporate social investment within the .za central registry operator, will sponsor this year's eLearning Africa (eLA) conference, taking place in Cotonou, Republic of Benin, from 23 to 25 May.
CoZa Cares manager Fiona Wallace says eLA is a key networking event for developing e-learning capacities in Africa. The event will this year host over 300 African and international speakers - who will address some 60 sessions. “[This in itself] gives one an idea of the scale and importance of this continent-wide gathering. CoZa Cares is thrilled to associate its name with the future of e-learning in Africa.”
According to eLA organisers, the conference and exhibition will explore key questions such as “how might e-learning be a vehicle for sustainable development in Africa?” and “how can the public sector, private enterprises, education and society as a whole benefit from learning innovations which have the potential to drive education and training?”.
IT engagement
Wallace says the organisation knows, from the model it has employed for ICT interventions in South African education, that sustainability is the key to success. “Proper and intensive engagement with schools, the identification of teachers and principals who share the vision of a future IT-literate South African learner, as well as engaging incentives, are the way to make a tangible difference, one steady step at a time.”
CoZa Cares will be represented at an exhibition stand at eLA, where the foundation's lessons, experiences and achievements will be showcased, and Wallace will give a presentation on the “sustainable ICT school”.
Since 2001, CoZa Cares has funded over 150 computer centres in under-resourced, largely rural schools in seven provinces, with over 2 000 educators having received skills training. The foundation supports an Open Educational Resource environment wherever possible, and has formed partnerships with other organisations wishing to make a difference in South African education; in particular, NetDay Association and Edunova.
Wallace says CoZa Cares is committed to IT education in Africa. The foundation is also a sponsor of the upcoming African Education Week, taking place in July at the Sandton Convention Centre.
Share