Programme  

  

SUNDAY, 1 FEBRUARY 2004

10:00 – 14:00

Ministers to visit Robben Island

16:30 – 17:30

OPENING CEREMONY AND KEYNOTE ADDRESS    

  • Welcome on behalf of the hosts

Sir John Daniel - Assistant Director-General, Education, UNESCO    

  • NEPAD: A Framework for Action

President Thabo Mbeki - South Africa

17:30

COCKTAIL RECEPTION

 

 

MONDAY, 2 FEBRUARY 2004

8:30 – 10:00  

VENUE:

Ballroom West

KEYNOTE PRESENTATIONS 1

·          Prospects, possibilities and perils: Distance education responds to Africa’s development needs

       Prof. Kader Asmal, MP- Minister of Education, South Africa

·          Distance Education for Development

Dato' Prof. Gajaraj Dhanarajan - President and Chief Executive Officer of the Commonwealth of Learning, Canada

10:00 – 10:25

TEA/COFFEE

10:30 – 11:25

REGIONAL DISCUSSIONS 1

Collaboration in distance education

 

FACILITATORS:

Mr. A. Parsuramen – Director of Office, UNESCO Office Dakar, and Regional Bureau for Education, Senegal

Ms. Kgomotso Motlotle – Secretary General, Botswana, National Commission for UNESCO, Botswana

Dr. Asha S. Kanwar – Education Specialist: Higher Education, The Commonwealth of Learning, Canada

Prof. Juma Shabani – Director and Representative, Harare Regional Office, UNESCO, Zimbabwe

 

VENUES:           Group 1 in Ballroom West

                         Group 2 in Meeting room 2.4

                         Group 3 in Meeting room 2.5

                         Group 4 in Meeting room 2.6

 

11:30 – 13:30  

 

 

VENUES:

Session 1

 in Meeting Room 2.4

 

Session 2

in Meeting Room 2.5

 

Session 3

 in Meeting Room 2.6

GROUP PRESENTATIONS AND DISCUSSIONS 1

Applications of Distance Education – Identifying critical success factors

SESSION 1

Higher education through distance education: Increasing access and success

 

 

Increasing access to higher education through the application of appropriate models of distance education

Prof. James Taylor - Deputy Vice- Chancellor (Academic & Global Learning) of the University of Southern Queensland, Australia

 

Open distance education in Africa: Quality, access and success

Prof. Barney Pityana -   Principal and Vice-      Chancellor of the       University of South      Africa, South Africa

SESSION 2

Teacher education through distance education: Improving competence in the classroom

 

Training teachers through distance education: The Nigerian experience

Dr. A. Modibbo Mohammed – Director and Chief Executive, National Teachers Institute, Nigeria

 

Mr Unwaha Y. Ismaila - Director, National Teachers Institute, Nigeria

 

Teacher Education in Kenya: Improving teaching and learning through open and distance education

 

Mr John Limozi – Education Officer, Ministry of Education Science and Technology, Kenya

 

Dr. Caroline Pontefract - Education Advisor, Department for International Development, United Kingdom

SESSION 3

Community education through distance education: Education for all

 

 

Community education through distance education

Prof. Richard Siaciwena – Open and Distance Learning Strategic Advisor, Ministry of Education, Mozambique

 

 

 

Challenges in AIDS communication and distance education work across eight countries in Sub-Saharan Africa; lessons from Soul City Regional project

Ms. Harriet Perlman – Programme Manager: Soul City Institute for Health Development and Communication, South Africa

13:30 – 14:25

Lunch


 

14:30 – 16:40


VENUES:

Session 1 in Meeting room 2.4

 

Session 2 in Meeting room 2.5

 

Session 3 in Meeting room 2.6

GROUP PRESENTATIONS AND DISCUSSIONS 2

Applications of Distance Education – Signs of promise: an analysis of strengths and weaknesses

SESSION 1

Open schooling: Broadening access by distance education 

 

Access all areas: Improving access to schooling by distance education in Australia

Mr Chris Dolan - Principal of the Senior Secondary School of Distance Education, Open Access College, Australia

 

 

Open schooling: Broadening access by distance education: The Namibian experience

Ms. Frances Mensah – Director of the Namibian College for Open Learning (NAMCOL), Namibia

 

Open schooling: Broadening access by distance education: India

Shri Surendra P. Gaur - Joint Secretary to the Government of India, Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) and Chairman, National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS), India

SESSION 2

Adult education: Illiteracy to lifelong learning

 

Policy frameworks towards quality in distance learning.  Main problems and solutions

Prof. Hamidou Nacuzon Sall – Coordinator Chair UNESCO Education Sciences, University Cheikh Anta Diop of Dakar, Senegal

 

 

Adult education: Illiteracy to lifelong learning.  Can open and distance learning help to prevent the record of underachievement?

Prof. Tony Dodds – Distance Education in developing countries, France

 

SESSION 3

Is technical and vocational education possible through distance education?

 

Technical and vocational education: Delivery possibilities through distance education

Mr. Perive Tanuvasa Lene – Chief Executive Officer of Samoa Polytechnic, Samoa

 

 Is technical and vocational education possible through distance education?

Dr. Phil Christensen – Director of the Academy for Education Development, South Africa

 

 

Sustainability, quality and balance - An integrated systems approach to the delivery of vocational education and training through open and distance learning

Dr. Dermot M Moore – former Vice-Principal of Technikon SA, South Africa

16:45 – 17:25  

 

Ballroom West

KEYNOTE PRESENTATIONS 2

Transforming education for a new Africa.  Convergence of Technologies: Possibilities for distance education

Mr Noah Samara - Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, WorldSpace Corporation, United States of America

17:30 – 18:30  

Ballroom West

MINISTERS’ MEETING – NEPAD e-SCHOOLS

Dr. Henry Chasia, Executive Deputy Chairperson, NEPAD e-Africa Commission, Kenya

19:00  

Ballroom East

GALA DINNER 

Hosted by Prof. Kader Asmal, MP,  the Minister of Education, South Africa

 


 

TUESDAY, 3 FEBRUARY 2004

08:30 – 9:15

Ballroom West

KEYNOTE PRESENTATION 3

Will bridging the digital divide resolve our educational needs?

Prof. Brenda Gourley – Vice-Chancellor, Open University, United Kingdom

09:20 – 11:20

 

 

VENUES:

Session 1 in Meeting room 2.4

 

Session 2 in Meeting room 2.5

 

Session 3 in Meeting room 2.6

 

GROUP PRESENTATIONS AND DISCUSSIONS 3

ICTs in Distance Education and in Opening Learning in Africa

SESSION 1

Does e-learning equal distance education?

 

 

 

eLearning: Elusive but attainable promises

Dr. Stanley Trollip, Capella University, United States of America

 

 

 

 

 

 

Open learning and distance education.  Does distance learning equal e-learning?

Prof. Hafiz Wali – Education Tax Fund, Nigeria

 

SESSION 2

Ways that information and communication technologies policies can support distance education

 

 

Information and communication technologies in education policy – Supporting distance education

Mr. Vis Naidoo – Education Specialist: Educational Technology, The Commonwealth of Learning, Canada

 

Government information and communication technologies policy to facilitate the development of open, distance and flexible learning

Dr Robert Ensor – Education Advisor, Institute for Social Studies, The Netherlands

SESSION 3

Innovative information and communication technologies applications – What’s new and what’s working?

 

Dr. Henry Chasia, Executive Deputy Chairperson, NEPAD  e-Africa Commission, South Africa

 

 

 

 

 

Information and communication technologies applications: What’s new and what’s working in Africa?

Ms. Shafika Isaacs – Executive Director of SchoolNet Africa, South Africa

11:20 – 11:45

TEA/COFFEE

11:45 – 13:15  

 

Ballroom West

PLENARY PRESENTATIONS 1

Quality is the central concern for distance education

Quality assurance in open and distance learning

Dr Asha S. Kanwar – Education Specialist: Higher Education, The Commonwealth of Learning, Canada

 

Beyond the wish list: Proposed strategies for assuring the quality of distance education in South Africa

Ms Jenny Glennie – Executive Director, South African Institute for Distance Education, South Africa

Ms Tessa Welch – Co-ordinator: Quality Assurance and Teacher Education, South African Institute for Distance Education, South Africa

13:15 – 14:15

LUNCH

Special lunch for Ministers hosted by the Minister of Education, South Africa

14:15 – 15:45  

 

Ballroom West

PLENARY PRESENTATIONS 2

Can distance education be cost-effective? – A policy level input  

 

Financing DE programmes in African education: A guide for sound investment

Mr. Neil Butcher – South African Institute for Distance Education, South Africa

 

Challenges and prospects for partnership and e-learning  

Mr. Michael Latham – President of CfBT Education Services, United Kingdom

15:45 – 16:15

TEA/COFFEE

16:15 – 18:15  

 

 

 

 

VENUES:

Session 1 in Meeting room 2.4

 

Session 2 in Meeting room 2.5

 

Session 3 in Meeting room 2.6

GROUP PRESENTATIONS AND DISCUSSIONS 4

Some key issues in distance education provision in Africa

SESSION 1

Diversity in provision – Modes of delivery; regulation and coordination

Diversity of educational provision: Critical issues and challenges for open learning and distance education policy and regulation towards access, equity and quality

Prof. Saleem Badat – Chief Executive Officer, Council on Higher Education, South Africa

 

The challenges to achieving relevant, cost-effective and quality distance education provision in Africa:The experience of the Open University of Tanzania 1992-2002

Prof. Donatus A Komba - Deputy Vice Chancellor (Academic) of the Open University of Tanzania, Tanzania

SESSION 2

Building capacity in distance education

 

 

Building capacity in distance education: The case of Mozambique

Mr. Arnaldo Nhavoto – Distance Education Task Force Coordinator, Ministry of Education and Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Technology, Mozambique

 

 

 

NEPAD initiatives in information and communications technologies and associated capacity building

Prof. Peter E Kinyanjui – NEPAD Commissioner on e-Schools, Kenya

SESSION 3

Collaboration – Issues of diversity in culture, context and language

 

The challenges and potential of distance teaching and open learning in Africa: Experiences from the African Virtual University

Mr. Peter Dzvimbo – Rector, African Virtual University, Kenya

 

 

 

 

Cultural and linguistic issues in regional cooperation and open and distance education in Africa

Prof. Juma Shabani – Director: UNESCO Harare Cluster Office,  Zimbabwe

19:00

NETWORKING EVENING – Aquarium, Victoria Alfred Waterfront

Hosted by the Premier of the Western Cape, Mr Marthinus van Schalkwyk

 

 

 

WEDNESDAY, 4 FEBRUARY 2004

08:30 – 10:00  

 

 

 

Ballroom West

PLENARY PRESENTATIONS 3

Moving into Action

Distance education and teacher development in Africa.  A NEPAD programme of action

Prof. Mzobz Mboya – Advisor: Education, NEPAD Secretariat, South Africa

 

Accelerating development through information and communications technologies

Ms. Lyndall Shope-Mafole – Chairperson of Presidential National Commission on Information Society and Development, South Africa

 

Resourcing Distance Education in Africa

Ms. Shola Aboderin – Senior Education Specialist, Open and Distance Learning and ICT, Africa Region, World Bank, United States of America

 

Statement from the launching conference of the African Council for Distance Education

10:05 – 11:30

REGIONAL DISCUSSIONS 2

Regional strategies on open learning and distance education beyond February 2004

 

FACILITATORS:

Mr. A Parsuramen – Director of Office, UNESCO Office Dakar and Regional Bureau for Education, Senegal

Ms. Kgomotso Motlotle – Secretary General, Botswana National Commission for UNESCO, Botswana

Dr. Asha S. Kanwar – Education Specialist: Higher Education, The Commonwealth of Learning, Canada

Prof. Juma Shabani – Director and Representative, Harare Regional Office, UNESCO, Zimbabwe

 

VENUES:            Group 1 in Ballroom West

                          Group 2 in Meeting room 2.4

                           Group 3 in Meeting room 2.5

                           Group 4 in Meeting room 2.6

11:30 – 12:00

TEA/COFFEE

12:00 – 12:45  

Ballroom West

KEYNOTE PRESENTATIONS 4

Distance Education – is it still relevant in 2004?

Sir John Daniel - Assistant Director-General, Education, UNESCO

12:45 – 13:30  

Ballroom West

CLOSING CEREMONY

13:30

LUNCH