A forthcoming Summit in Zimbabwe aims to promote ICT for education in Africa and establish partnerships and procurement between the ministries of education and the private sector.

A forthcoming Summit in Zimbabwe aims to promote ICT for education in Africa and establish partnerships and procurement between the ministries of education and the private sector.

AfricanBrains, an organisation devoted to the promotion of innovation and attracting investment into new technologies, is organising The Southern African ICT for Education Summit 2012 hosted under the patronage of the Zimbabwe Ministry of Education, Sport, Arts & Culture.

The Summit consists of pre-scheduled meetings between the private sector, ministers and educationalists from 18 Southern African Countries and taking place at the Elephant Hills Resort, Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe on 26th-27th January 2012.

The Summit will be based around dedicated pre-scheduled meetings between the private sector, ministers and educationalists from the 15 member countries of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) plus Kenya, Uganda and Rwanda. It will focus on key areas for establishing partnerships and procurement between the ministries of education and the private sector.

Senator David Coltart, Zimbabwe Minister of Education, Sport, Arts & Culture stated "It is essential to deliver investment in ICT for education through strong partnerships with international and local technology leaders. This summit represents the ideal opportunity for business and government to enter into bilateral discussions for e-learning, m-learning, improving connectivity & capacity, developing digital content & storage, electronic publishing, strengthening pedagogical programs for science & mathematics teaching and building long-term public-private partnerships for education.

With that in mind and our strong commitment to this summit, we encourage the participation of companies and organisations who wish to benefit from this opportunity to engage with ministerial officials from the Southern African countries all under one roof."

The Southern African region represents the engine of future African economic growth and is keen to pursue public-private partnerships for education.

Investment in ICT for education is essential. It represents an ideal opportunity to "leapfrog" stages of development by building a skilled and ICT literate workforce.

The summit will focus on key areas for establishing partnerships and procurement between the ministries of education and the private sector:

AfricanBrains recently organised and completed The African Education Summit 2011 in Morocco which represented the start of a long-term commitment to bring the public sector and educational institutions together with private and corporate sector operators and investors.

Keynote speakers at the event included Dr. Cheick Diarra, Chairman of Microsoft Africa with a speech on "Understanding Africa’s ICT infrastructure and embracing the potential that lies ahead"; Dr Francis Tusubira, CEO of UbuntuNet Alliance who spoke on "Research and Education Connectivity – Unlocking the Intellectual Potential of Africa Based Researchers" as well as Prof Is-haq Oloyede – Vice Chancellor & Board Member, Association of African Universities who delivered a talk on "AAU Efforts and Opportunities for University Connectivity in Africa".