On 14 May 2020, UNESCO IICBA and UNESCO Regional Office for Eastern Africa co-organized a webinar on “The Opportunities, Challenges and Best Practices in the Development of Distance Education Resources for Museums in Eastern Africa”.

The webinar discussed how to support museums in East Africa, to develop distance learning education resources and programmes which are adapted to country contexts, and take into consideration low-tech environments, equity/inclusive education, and gender perspectives. In attendance, there were over 75 participants including museum directors, education experts, teachers, development partners and UNESCO colleagues across the world.  Ms. Karalyn Monteil, Regional Advisor for Culture of UNESCO Regional Office for Eastern Africa moderated the webinar.

From IICBA, Dr. Binyam Sisay, Programme Officer of IICBA, Teacher Education and Curriculum Development, demonstrated the benefits of museums for teachers, as well as opportunities for and challenges to developing distance education programmes for museums and teachers in the region.  The webinar was concluded with closing remarks by Dr. Yumiko Yokozeki, Director of IICBA, in which she expressed her gratitude for the informative and inspiring webinar, and her enthusiasm for much-needed collaboration between schools and museums.

The webinar opened our eyes to the amount of material available virtually at museums all around the world.  Teachers and learners can make use of these resources during the school closure.  IICBA and UNESCO Regional office for Eastern Africa will continue the information exchange and discussions.

Link to the UNESCO Regional Office for Eastern Africa web news on the webinar:
https://en.unesco.org/news/unesco-webinar-explores-ways-strengthen-distance-education-eastern-african-museums

Recording of the Webinar