A new African-led partnership is to be officially launched next week, to promote the growth of school networks, or "schoolnets" throughout Africa.
The partnership, SchoolNetAfrica, is headquartered in SA and is governed by a 12-member Steering Committee representing 10 countries in the five sub-regions of Africa. The committee also includes a representative from the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa.
SchoolNetAfrica is described as the first African-based, African-led, pan-African school networking institution on the continent. In partnership with national schoolnets, SchoolNetAfrica will kick off with a number of flagship projects. Over the next three years, under the banner of the "Operation Dot Learns" programme, SchoolNetAfrica plans to connect African schools to the Internet, help national schoolnets, pilot the development of online curricula, create a knowledge warehouse, help develop "world class" learners through its ThinkQuest Africa competition, and lobby for cheap Internet access for schools.
SchoolNetAfrica has evolved through schoolnets in various countries seeking a unified body to look after their interests. Its Steering Committee has already forged partnerships with major donor and development agencies such as the Open Society Institute for Southern Africa, the International Development Research Centre, the UN Economic Commission for Africa and UNESCO.
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