The government is finalising an intensive e-education programme which would ensure that information communication technology (ICT) is integrated in the teaching and learning processes. This was revealed by the minister for Education and Vocational Training, Dr Shukuru Kawambwa, in Dar es Salaam over the weekend. He said the programme dubbed “Tanzania Beyond Tomorrow” was important due to the fact that the world had become a village and therefore the ICT element was expected to enable Tanzanian children to compete globally. This, according to the minister, was part of the government’s plans to streamline the education sector between 2010 and 2015. “The second phase of Sedep (2010-2015) would see the completion of school infrastructure, providing teaching and learning materials, building science laboratories and libraries, as well as building capacities of the teaching teams,” he said.

(Source: The Citizen)

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The Citizen

The International Women Day (8th of March), once again will provide the European Commission with an occasion to address the role of women in the ICT sector. However, this year, substantive changes have been introduced to the formula of the event, starting from the location: Cyprus. The intention is to move the discussion to Member States which have only recently joined the European Union adventure, exactly where women's potential is particularly untapped and where fresh ideas could bloom. This year the debate on women and ICT will be embedded in a broader initiative encompassing other ICT related issues. The event will comprise workshops targeting women willing to set up consortia and submit proposals for future calls.

(Source: Europe's Information Society)

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European Comission

Nearly 500 teachers are meeting in Seville to celebrate the fifth anniversary of eTwinning, an action that creates online communities of teachers and schools across Europe. Through eTwinning, over 85 000 teachers from across Europe work together in international school activities involving more than 50 000 schools in 32 European countries. In the five years of its existence, eTwinning has grown from being a partner-finding tool for teachers to become a rich, Europe-wide community of teaching and learning ( www.etwinning.net ).

On 5 February, a prize ceremony is being held for 37 schools from 21 countries that are the top winners of this year's eTwinning Awards for excellence in eTwinning.

(Source: Europa)

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Europa

The Taiwan government says it will spend 2 billion New Taiwan dollars ($65 million) to support its electronic-book industry and help makers cash in on the rapidly growing world market.

Companies can receive government subsidies of up to 40 percent of costs for programs developing related technologies, according to an Industrial Development Bureau report released Thursday. Taiwan is already a leading player in the digital book market, being the exclusive supplier of e-paper displays for Amazon's Kindle and Sony's e-Reader through collaboration with foreign firms that hold cutting-edge electronic ink technologies, officials said.

(Source: AP)

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AP

Developing countries risk missing out on the benefits of information technology because of their lack of broadband infrastructure, a U.N. agency said.

Lack of broadband Internet access deprives countries of the possibility of building up offshoring industries, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) said in a report late on Thursday. It also prevents people from tapping into all the advantages of mobile phones, whose use is exploding in poor countries. "What is known as the broadband gap for example is becoming a serious handicap for companies in many poor countries," he told a briefing to launch UNCTAD's Information Economy Report.

(Source: Reuters)

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Reuters  

As part of this year’s focus on education, the UN Global Alliance for Information and Communication Technology and Development (GAID) presented the newly formed University of the People, a non-profit institution offering higher education to the masses.

For hundreds of millions of people around the world higher education is no more than a dream, Shai Reshef, the founder of the University of the People, told reporters. They are constrained by finances, the lack of institutions in their region, or they are not able to leave home to study at a university for personal reasons. Mr Reshef said that this University opened the gate to these people to continue their studies from home and at minimal cost by using open-source technology, open course materials, e-learning methods and peer-to-peer teaching. Admission opened just over two weeks ago; and without any promotion some 200 students from 52 countries have already registered, with a high school diploma and a sufficient level of English as entry requirements. Students will be placed in classes of 20, after which they can log on to a weekly lecture, discuss its themes with their peers and take a test - all online. There are voluntary professors, post-graduate students and students in other classes who can also offer advice and consultation.

Source: United Nations

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Experts on information and communication technology (ICT) from the United Nations, private industry, non-governmental organizations and government agencies have met in Geneva to look at ways to use the latest digital innovations to fight poverty and improve public health.

“The objective is to introduce cutting-edge, innovative knowledge, experiences, expertise and best practices” to the work of the UN, and the UN Commission on Science and Technology for Development in particular, according to the UN Global Alliance for ICT and Development (GAID), which organized the one-day meeting. “New technologies can boost education through distance learning, content creation and delivery, and teacher training,” GAID noted in a news release. “They can help create new job opportunities for people living in poverty. These technologies can also empower women and the disadvantaged to increase their access to information and participate in the economy.”

The Alliance also noted that advances in health information systems based on ICT are improving patients care and healthcare providers’ productivity worldwide. However, developing countries lag behind in employing ICT to these ends. “While diseases in developing countries account for over 90 per cent of the global disease burden, it is estimated that only 10 per cent of the more than $100 billion spent annually on health research is allocated for health problems prevalent in these countries,” it stated.

Source: UNESCO

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"Digital technologies, or Information and Communications Technologies as they are commonly known, offer massive opportunities: Innovation and technology are "the backbone of the modern economy," says Senator the Hon Stephen Conroy, Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy and the deputy leader of the Government in the Senate.

As part of the Government of Australia's efforts at reducing carbon emissions by 2020, the energy sector providers plan to use broadband to improve the way they monitor and manage power distribution. Using broadband to connect power consumers with power generators will allow them to harness means of distribution in a more efficient and reliable manner. Smart grids connected by broadband will also raise the potential to not only monitor energy use but to allow remote adjustment of lights or temperature. This implies the very real possibility of significant carbon emission reductions for the country. 

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ITU is pleased to announce the launch of its 2009 Cybersecurity and ICT Applications Essay Competition.

The 2009 ITU Cybersecurity and ICT Applications Essay Competition is open to current students and recent graduates in economics, political science, law, literature, telecommunications, computer science, information systems and related fields between the ages of 20 and 30 years old. The winners of the 2009 Essay Competition will be offered the opportunity of a consultancy contract within the ITU Development Sector's ICT Applications and Cybersecurity Division for three months. The winners will be given a contribution towards the cost of an economy class flight from their place of residence. In addition, they will be paid the sum of CHF 6000 towards living expenses for the duration of the contract.

To enter the competition you need to submit an essay on one of the following essay topics:

• Mobiles for Development: Enabling Low-Cost e-Applications for Rural and Remote Areas (e-Health, e-Government, e-Environment)
• Protecting Children and Youth in the Internet and Mobile Age: Innovative Technical and Social Solutions
• Connecting the World Responsibly: Empowering Women and Girls Through Creative Uses of ICTs
• Personal Information Online (internet/mobiles): Responding to User Safety Concerns

All applications should be submitted online through the competition website.

The deadline for applications is 14 June 2009.

We look forward to reviewing your applications and wish you the best of luck in the competition!

Students and Teachers in Andhra Pradesh will now have access to an online learning platform that enables teachers to integrate learning projects into their classroom curriculum and students to develop critical 21st century skills, including creativity, communication, teamwork, and technology skills. This is made possible by the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between Oracle Education Foundation (OEF) and Institute for Electronic Governance (IEG), a non-profit organization under the government of Andhra Pradesh, India.

Through this link-up, 500 government schools and over 25,000 students and teachers will gain access to the ThinkQuest online learning platform over the next two years. In the first phase of the rollout, IEG and OEF will train 120 teachers from 60 schools on the ThinkQuest platform and instruct them how to best integrate 21st century skills instruction and project learning into their curricula.

First launched in India in 2004, ThinkQuest currently supports over 146,000 students and teachers in 1,100 schools across the country, including Kendriya Vidyalayas, Navodaya Vidyalayas, DPS, DAV, and other schools.

Read the full text here.

The Global Digital Solidarity Fund (DSF) today launched the project of "1000 Telemedicine Units for Africa". This eHealth initiative aims to support financing telemedicine units in Africa as well as to enable health professionals to obtain continuing education. The project consists of equipping district hospitals with diagnostic tools and internet connectivity to enable real-time or deferred exchanges with experts at a distance and to update medical knowledge of health professionals through e-Learning tools.

To date, DSF partners in this project are the Network of French-speaking Africa for Telemedicine (RAFT) of the University Hospitals of Geneva and the Africa Health Infoway (AHI) of the World Health Organization.

For more information on DSF, click here.

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) reported on 26 November about the launch of 20 broadband-enabled teacher resource centres in the Maldives to help the Ministry of Education to provide quality education to every child of a population spread across 1,000 small islands.

Using information and communication technologies (ICTs) enables administrators and teachers to be part of one learning community across the country. Teachers can simultaneously receive online training, access and exchange information through the common network. Moreover, the internet and state-of-the-art technologies are aimed to enhance interactive education and to increase motivation of both students and teachers, as UNICEF noted.

The Information for Development Program (infoDev) of The World Bank identified trends in 53 African countries related to the use of information and communication technologies (ICTs) in education.

The report indicates a shift from small-scale pilot projects supported by donors and NGOs to a systematic policy and multi-stakeholder approach. While the degree of e-readiness varies from country to country, there is a growing commitment to using ICTs in education throughout administrations on the continent.

The survey finds some notable trends in the areas as follows:

• Public-private partnerships
• Digital content
• Open source software and operating systems
• Regional initiatives
• National research and education networks
• Internet connectivity
• Wireless networks

To read the summary report, click here.

To read the full article, click here.

Inveneo is a non-profit social enterprise whose mission is to get the tools of ICT into the hands of organizations and people who need them most - those in remote and rural communities in the developing world. To do this, Inveneo creates and sells highly affordable and sustainable ICTs that are specifically designed for organizations- governments, NGOs, private enterprises - that serve these rural communities with vital services that include education, healthcare, economic development, relief and telecentres.

During September 2007, CNN showed a programme about the work of Inveneo in rural Uganda where the co-founder, Kristin Peterson stated that she regarded providing ICT to rural areas as important as providing food.

The Portuguese Government and the European Commission are jointly organising the fourth Ministerial eGovernment Conference entitled “Reaping the Benefits of eGovernment” in Lisbon from 19 to 21 September 2007.

Topics to be covered during the workshops at the conference include the analysis of experience and results of the e-government initiatives at European level such as:

• Research and Technological Development in Electronic Government;
• Public Sector Innovators;
• eGovernment standards;
• Benefits for All derived from Electronic Government;
• Benefits of the electronic infrastructure in e-government, e-health and e-learning.

At the first Regional Conference on Literacy taking place in Mali this week, Angola's Minister of Education underlined the importance of literacy skills to foster health prevention in Africa as the Angola Press Agency reported yesterday via All Africa.

In order to reach the objectives of the National Plan of Education for All by 2015, information and communication technologies (ICTs) are now used as tools to promote autodidactic learning and to train citizens on matters related to health primary care, personal hygiene, HIV/Aids and environment.

To read more, click here.

Two Ethiopian hospitals have been linked with a specialist hospital in India, which allows doctors to obtain real-time second opinion over the internet, as BBC News reported on 16 July 2007.

The pilot project focusing on a hospital in Addis Ababa and on a provincial one located 300 km away from the capital would likely be followed-up by connecting a total of 20 more hospitals into the network. For the first five years, India will run the project free of charge.

The technical platform facilitates sharing of patients' data between healthcare professionals (such as X-rays, laboratory tests, etc.); health workers in remote areas have better access to medical expertise without moving over long and time-consuming distances.

In order to improve secondary education and access to medical expertise, 23 African countries are already in the loop for a similar project agreed between India and the African Union.

To read the full article, click here.