Third International Conference On ICT Launched

The Third International Conference on ICT for Development, Education and Training which is scheduled to take place at the Accra International Conference Center on the 28th to 30th May 2008 has been launched in Accra.

The conference which is an annual event for developing eLearning capacities in Africa is expected to attract over 1800 participants from across the globe of which 70% will be coming from African Countries.

Launching the conference yesterday, the Minister for Education, Science and Sports, Hon. Prof. Dominic Fobih, said the overall goal of the ICT in Education Policy is to enable graduates from Ghanaian educational institutions both formal and non-formal to confidently and creatively use ICT tools and resources to develop requisite skills and knowledge needed to be active participants in the global knowledge economy by 2015.

Prof. Fobih disclosed that Ghana stands to benefit in a number of areas from the eLearning Africa (eLA) 2008.  He said eLA 2008 will make a platform for the promotion and support of eLearning programmes, provide national capacities to access European Union funded Research and Development programmes.

The Minister appealed to organisations, companies and institutions particularly all commercial entities to support the conference by providing sponsorship packages for prospective participants with the view to building the capacity of more Ghanaians.

Ms Dorothy Gordon, Director General for AITI-KACE, who gave a brief overview of the conference said, the event which will have more than 240 speakers from 51 countries will seek to be a landmark in Pan-African capacity-building for ICT-enhanced education and training.

'It will also give us as Ghanaians to gain additional insights that will take us further on the path towards innovation and true technology ownership as opposed to mere consumption of technology.'   She said.

Ms Gordon announced that the conference is divided into optional pre-conference workshops, seminars and Meetings, Plenary and Presentation sessions, Debates and Discussions. In addition to these, she said, additional networking sessions are organised to help participants who would like to meet people interested in similar issues and topics.

The Deputy Minister for Information and National Orientation, Hon. Frank Agyekum, who chaired the function, advised the general public to take interest in ICT since it is a vital tool in national development.