Rwanda Africa’s ‘City of Innovation’ to host conference on ‘Uniting Africa’

By Wallace Mawire [caption id="attachment_42203" align="alignleft" width="1000"] Rwanda's Paul Kagame and Chad's Idriss Derby displaying their copies of the African Union Passport[/caption] Next year Rwanda, one of Africa’s most technologically ambitious countries, will take over the Chairmanship of the African Union. It will also play host to eLearning Africa and the organisers are predicting that it will be the biggest conference in the event’s 13-year history. They believe it could play a signinficant role in pushing forward the African Union's 2063 Agenda. The conference, which is being jointly organised by ICWE GmbH and the Rwanda Convention Bureau under the patronage of the Rwandan Government, usually attracts well over 1,000 participants from all over the world. They are not only teachers, academics and learning experts, but political leaders, policy makers, investors, technologists, business leaders and entrepreneurs too. The conference will also be an occasion for an annual round table meeting of African education and technology ministers. In Rwanda, participants in eLearning Africa will have a chance to see for themselves the achievements of an African government, which has set about using technology to transform education. In 2014, the Government signed an agreement to incorporate information and communication technology into the country’s schools and colleges. The benefits of “a new system of teaching that emphasises the use of computers and internet to impart knowledge” are already starting to be felt across the country. And now the Government is confident that by 2020 all schools in the country will have at least two smart classrooms and all subjects will have been digitised. eLearning Africa 2018 will take place from 26 to 28 September in Rwanda’s capital city, Kigali, which has gained a reputation for its ICT-based initiatives in a variety of sectors. So great is its apparent enthusiasm for new technological solutions that some observers have referred to it as the “Innovation City of Africa.” In addition to its technological prowess, Kigali is also one of Africa’s most attractive cities - eLearning Africa participants will be able to take advantage of its bustling streets, ridges, valleys, and lush hillsides, not to mention Rwanda’s world renowned Gorilla trekking tours, only a short journey away. “It is wonderful that Rwanda is now setting a real example for other countries in technology-assisted learning and hosting a conference whose theme is „Uniting Africa“, says conference organiser, Rebecca Stromeyer. “l am confident that eLearning Africa 2018 in Rwanda will be the biggest and most exciting eLA yet.” Under the overall theme of “Uniting Africa,“ conference participants will also discuss how the benefits of technology can be shared and help to improve education across Africa, making a reality of the African Union’s 2063 Vision of a “transformed continent.” A call for papers has been issued and will remain open until 30 January 2018. The organisers are looking for contributions on subjects including “creating opportunities through education,” “boosting competitiveness and ICT-centric growth,” “matching skills demand and supply,” and “overcoming barriers.”