UNESCO/RINAF Organized Workshop on Distance Education in Africa
13-05-2002 ()
- An African Regional Workshop on "Distance Education National Policy and the Role of ICT: Design, Building, Implementation and Management" was recently organised by the Regional Informatics Network for Africa (RINAF) at the UNESCO Regional Office for Education in Africa in Dakar (Senegal). The Workshop on 2 and 3 May focused on the design, building, implementation and management of national policies in distance education focusing on ICTs in higher education.
Designed for decision makers and specialists in the development of national policies for distance education (DE) in higher education, the Workshop specifically aimed at:
· Familiarizing participants with the principles, strategies, methods, models and tools for design, planning, building, implementing and managing of DE using ICT in the higher education level;
· Training in the supervision of the design of DE national policy documents;
· Sharing country and institutional experience in the successful integration of ICTs in DE programmes, including critical evaluation of the programmes and courses;
· Sharing information about similar experiences and projects at multilateral cooperation and networks in Africa.
· Setting up an African collaborative working group in DE national policy to reinforce and accelerate synergy, coherence and convergence between programmes, actions and initiatives in the field (UNESCO DE Chair at University of Lomé, BREDA-UNESCO DE knowledge base group, RINAF DE Project and DE Interest Group, actions of ADEA in DE, of the University for African Future, actions of NEPAD related to DE, Digital Campus of AUF, African Virtual University (AVU of World Bank),
RINAF is working to be a tool for building the emerging knowledge society in Africa. Distance Education is considered as one of the main factors to improve the access and the quality of the African education systems that are a basic component for building the knowledge society and a knowledge based economy. In this way, RINAF defined and supported two years ago the development of a DE project (RINAF Project N°7). In September 2001 during the RINAF meeting in Accra, a RINAF DE Group of interest was created.
Facing the exploding increase of DE programmes, RINAF estimated that itis important for each country to develop its DE policy, strategy and planning which are related to the use and integration of ICT facilities in order to satisfy the social demands in higher education like access, quality and flexibility. The RINAF DE Project is designed in respect of these purposes and perspectives. The Workshop planned in this way and on regional basis will focus on DE national policy topics and practice in the field of the use of ICT to improve DE programs and collaborative works at African or sub-regional level.
· Familiarizing participants with the principles, strategies, methods, models and tools for design, planning, building, implementing and managing of DE using ICT in the higher education level;
· Training in the supervision of the design of DE national policy documents;
· Sharing country and institutional experience in the successful integration of ICTs in DE programmes, including critical evaluation of the programmes and courses;
· Sharing information about similar experiences and projects at multilateral cooperation and networks in Africa.
· Setting up an African collaborative working group in DE national policy to reinforce and accelerate synergy, coherence and convergence between programmes, actions and initiatives in the field (UNESCO DE Chair at University of Lomé, BREDA-UNESCO DE knowledge base group, RINAF DE Project and DE Interest Group, actions of ADEA in DE, of the University for African Future, actions of NEPAD related to DE, Digital Campus of AUF, African Virtual University (AVU of World Bank),
RINAF is working to be a tool for building the emerging knowledge society in Africa. Distance Education is considered as one of the main factors to improve the access and the quality of the African education systems that are a basic component for building the knowledge society and a knowledge based economy. In this way, RINAF defined and supported two years ago the development of a DE project (RINAF Project N°7). In September 2001 during the RINAF meeting in Accra, a RINAF DE Group of interest was created.
Facing the exploding increase of DE programmes, RINAF estimated that itis important for each country to develop its DE policy, strategy and planning which are related to the use and integration of ICT facilities in order to satisfy the social demands in higher education like access, quality and flexibility. The RINAF DE Project is designed in respect of these purposes and perspectives. The Workshop planned in this way and on regional basis will focus on DE national policy topics and practice in the field of the use of ICT to improve DE programs and collaborative works at African or sub-regional level.
Related themes/countries
· RINAF
· Senegal: News Archives 2002
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- UNESCO BREDA
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