eLa 2017

ELearning Contributes to Growth in Africa

Port Louis (Mauritius), October 2017 - Each year, eLearning Africa brings together the Continent’s leading ICT-in-education community. Experts, high-level decision makers, practitioners, researchers, entrepreneurs, and stakeholders from over 70 countries, and from across the education, business, and public sectors, come together to discuss, debate, inform, share experiences, and plan action. In conjunction with this year’s hosts, the government of Mauritius, eLearning Africa is supporting the 2017 UNESCO International Day of Universal Access to Information (IDUAI). Rebecca Stromeyer, owner and founder of eLearning Africa, spoke with CHECK.point eLearning about the event.

As the largest conference of its kind, the three-day event has become widely recognised as a not-to-be-missed occasion for anyone with an interest in education in Africa. It provides outstanding opportunities to learn, understand, present, promote, exhibit, connect, and develop new partnerships.

Like many African countries, Mauritius is enjoying a period of continuing economic growth. What is eLearning’s contribution to this process?

Rebecca Stromeyer: Nelson Mandela described education as "the key to everything." Today, new information and communication technologies give us the chance to extend the reach of education across Africa. Online education and digitalisation have a positive effect on economic growth by improving education and training in every sector. They offer learners access to international information they could never reach from home. Such high-level training gives wider access to better jobs and stimulates economic growth.

How can technology-assisted learning help to create jobs? What is the link between education and employment?

Rebecca Stromeyer: Technology and digitalisation offer an unprecedented opportunity to develop not only a highly educated population, but also a skilled, modern workforce. They offer the means, too, to support Africa’s burgeoning private sector, to encourage business start-ups, and to enable young entrepreneurs to develop the new skills they will need in the markets of the future. They offer opportunities, for example, to create a wider and more inclusive educational environment – one that offers proper support for marginalised groups, such as migrants or the disabled; expands opportunities for women and girls; strengthens and extends training for younger people; and facilitates the development of lifelong learning.