SURVEY OF ICT AND EDUCATION IN AFRICA - infoDev

LinuxChix Africa | www.africalinuxchix.orgLinuxChix Africa was formed in 2004 by a group of African women to promote the development of freeand open source software, particularly Linux skills.Microsoft | http://www.microsoft.com/education/Working closely with worldwide education communities, Microsoft has developed technology, tools,programmes, and solutions to help address education challenges while improving teaching and learningopportunities. In countries like Ghana, Kenya, and South Africa, Microsoft has promoted low-cost access tosoftware for schools. In addition, Microsoft established its Partners in Learning programme and its relatedInnovative Teachers Network which supports teacher development projects in a number of African countries.Mtandao Afrika | www.mtandao-afrika.orgFormerly known as ThinkQuest Africa, Mtandao Afrika holds a n Internet challenge contest for Africanyouth. The contest focuses on the collaborative development of educational Web sites by youth who work inmultinational teams and who are awarded prizes by a panel of international judges.NEPAD e-Schools | www.eafricacommission.orgThis initiative aims to impart ICT skills to young Africans in primary and secondary schools as well asharness ICT technology to improve, enrich, and expand education in African countries. The aim is to equipall African primary and secondary schools with ICT apparatus such as computers, radio and television sets,phones and fax machines, communication equipment, scanners, digital cameras, and copiers, and to connectthem to the Internet. Each school will be equipped with a “health point.” which encourages the use of theschools’ ICT resources by the broader community. NEPAD e-Schools is currently concluding its first Demoproject which involved 16 African country governments collaborating with five consortia companies in theprovision of ICT resources to six schools in each of the 16 countries.One Laptop per Child (OLPC) | www.laptop.org or www.olpc.comOLPC is a non-profit organisation set up to promote a low-cost laptop, known as the “$100 laptop,” in anattempt to promote access to the technology to the world’s children to support their learning. To dateinterest has been expressed by governments in Libya, Nigeria, and Rwanda.Panafrican Research Agenda on the Pedagogical Integration of Information and CommunicationsTechnologies (ICT) | www.observatoiretic.org/A knowledge network, initiated by the International Development Research Centre (IDRC), bringingtogether partners in eleven African countries to help researchers, practitioners, and institutions to collect andshare data.Peace Corps | www.peacecorps.govPeace Corps is an organisation based in the US that encourages US citizens to volunteer their time to workin developing countries in areas such as HIV/AIDS, information technology, and business development. Inthe ICT for education sector, Peace Corp volunteers have been stationed in a number of African countries toassist with the provision of technical training and support to groups and organisations that use ICTs ineducation.Schoolnet Africa | www.schoolnetafrica.netSchoolNet Africa is an NGO-based in Senegal that promotes education through the use of ICTs in Africanschools. SchoolNet Africa functions as a network of schoolnet organisations operating in 33 countries on thebasis of regional programmes on ICT access, teacher training, and collaborative learning. To date SchoolNetAfrica has produced a range of research reports on the experiences of African countries on the use of ICTs inschools.www.infodev.org ANNEX 1: Regional ICT in Education Initiatives in Africa 39