Invigorating the ICT-educational sector

IICD plays an important role in the implementation of ICT-enabled development and is the only specialised organisation of its kind in Europe. Set up in 1996 with the aim of fighting poverty in developing countries through the use of ICTs, IICD’s philosophy is that ICTs are tools that can contribute to sustainable development and poverty alleviation when ICTs are supporting existing development activities. IICD focuses on 'traditional' development sectors, such as education, and is active in nine countries.

Its new partner, GeSCI, was founded by the United Nations ICT Task Force with the mission to improve education, empower communities and accelerate socio-economic development through the widespread deployment of ICTs in schools. GeSCI supports developing countries as they create and deliver strategies to harness ICTs for education and community growth. To date GeSCI is contributing to national and regional education initiatives with increasing momentum in Namibia, India and Ghana.  GeSCI also develops knowledge about the role that ICTs in education can play in reducing poverty, and builds tools to transfer that knowledge into practice.

IICD’s experience in facilitating the implementation of ICTs in the educational sector in seven countries, along with GeSCIs educational expertise in developing countries will be an important boost for the use of ICTs in education and community development in Bolivia and across Africa. In recent times, IICD and its partners have been assisting with the formulation of an ICT policy in education in Bolivia, Zambia and Tanzania.

The eventual aim of this partnership is to implement cross-country sector collaboration on complementary development efforts that utilise ICTs.

This partnership aims to disseminate lessons learned in other African countries, for the benefit of all. Sharing knowledge and experience is a core part of both partners ideology and forms an integral part of this partnership. Practically, IICD strives to further policy developments with GeSCI in a number of its focal countries. Full use will be made of IICD’s long-established local information networks while its unique monitoring and evaluation system will closely monitor a joint ICT policy process in Namibia. IICD will also collaborate in the application of GeSCI’s e-learning tools – the Total Cost of Ownership Calculator (TCO) and E-LAN, a web based tool for assessing educational content.