“BELUGA”, the Open Education Resources Online Library for Africa is Open!

A digital platform of open education resources for students, teachers, school administrators, and parents, called “BELUGA”, was launched on 25 June 2020 by the UNESCO Multisectoral Regional Office for West Africa (UNESCO MSRO Abuja), in collaboration with Ganndal Editions and the Association for the Promotion of African Open Educational Resources (APRELIA). 

The economic and social consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic are severely affecting the African education systems – as of 25 June 2020, an estimated 211 million leaners in Africa are still suffering from the school closure. In this context, ministries in charge of education have taken the forced turn towards distance learning and education through online ,  radio and/or television in order to ensure the continuity of schooling. In the meantime, the urgency and importance of building a more resilient education system that can resist and absorb the shock to any possible future crisis is recognized.

As one of the many concrete actions initiated by UNESCO MSRO Abuja to support the education systems in the region in effective response to COVID-19, BELUGA was initiated for the benefit of all school community actors, including students, parents, teachers, and school administers. It stores and presents a rich collection of African Open Educational Resources developed conjointly by Ganndal editions, an African based publishing company and a French based open educational resources and network, tailored for the African educational and pedagogical needs. These endogenous resources are put at the service of the ongoing transformation of teaching-learning processes, with a view to enable effective, quality learning for all learners and equip schools with the possibility of sharing pedagogical and school development experiences that place the learning and professional co-development of all stakeholders at the heart of the school’s project.

Since its launch, BELUGA has received extensive attention and praises:

We hope that the resources of BELUGA will be a source of enriching, stimulating, and motivating discoveries, for your greatest satisfaction!