The 15th International Conference and Exhibition on ICT for Education, Training and Skills Development toot place in Rwandan Capital City, Kigali from May 11-13, 2022, at Kigali Convention Center with the theme of “A new purpose for Education”.

The eLA 2022 Conference which is Africa's largest conference and exhibition on technology supported learning, training and skills development was graced by experts, practitioners, policy makers and investors committed to the future of education and training with multiple renowned speakers and  were looking at a range of issues, including: the specific, practical challenges facing African countries, the suitability of global models in the African context, the importance of redirecting education to African countries' future needs, the use of technology in enabling African countries to respond to their specific needs, the development of a single African market and the consequent opportunities and requirements of employers, and the contribution Africa can make to global learning and to providing African experience to solve global problems.

eLearning Africa is accompanied by an exhibition, featuring products, services and courses offers by some of the world’s leading producers and providers. The conference itself offers a wide variety of opportunities for discussion, knowledge sharing and networking, in the form of plenary sessions, workshops, seminars and debates. It also hosts a ministerial roundtable, at which ministers of ICT and education, together with officials and advisers, discuss emerging themes with experts, academics and representatives of companies and organisations from around the world. The theme for this year’s roundtable is “A New Purpose for Education.”

Speaking at the conference, Hon. Minister of Education , Dr. Valentine Uwamariya noted that the pandemic has had tremendous socio-economic consequences in all countries of the world. While remote learning solutions were easier to implement in developed countries, with the necessary infrastructure in place, school closures and continuous learning have posed a much bigger challenge in African Countries.

Hon. Minister of Education highlighted that Rwanda’s overarching goal for the Social Transformation Pillar of the National Strategy for Transformation (NST1 2017-2024) is to develop Rwandans into a capable and skilled people with quality standards of living and a stable and secure society by ensuring quality of education for all aiming at building a knowledge-based economy. Education is a key sector for this social and economic transformation.

“We need to focus on equipping our young people with the digital skills they need to enable them to be prepared for the socio-economic development of our country based on technology. This will not only include the need for a strong emphasis on digital literacy in our education systems with a focus on collaborative learning and problem solving but also for young people to be flexible and adaptable. It requires the transfer of soft skills, such as critical thinking, problem-solving and creativity.”  Hon. Minister of Education , Dr. Valentine Uwamariya underlined

She also emphasized that Rwanda has chosen to place ICT at the core of education delivery chain because we believe in its power to improve teaching and learning and contribute to the quality education we want.

“The conference will surely be an opportunity to promote the use of ICTs for improving access to relevant information, education and training in Africa, to support sustainable education solutions in order to drive economic and social prosperity of our respectively countries.” Hon. Dr. Valentine Uwamariya said

In her opening remarks, Hon. Minister of Education mentioned that recognizing education as a critical investment for future growth and development in our respective countries, it should be the mandate of all participants of the conference to leverage from eLearning Africa conference in paving way to the establishment and strengthening of  collaboration within EdTech ecosystem towards more resilient education systems.

Head of ICT in education Department at REB, Dr. Christine Niyizamwiyitira  highlighted that the accessibility of the content for students through all technological means was one of priorities of education sector during school-closure due to COVID-19.

In break up session, Head of ICT in education Department, Dr. Christine underlined that private sector partnership in education is needed at any time. She also elaborated on how Rwanda Basic Education Board managed to work with different partners during school-closure period due to COVID-19

Hon. Minister of Education , Dr. Valentine Uwamariya addressing the participants of eLearning Africa conference.

Experts, Philosophers in all domains were present in this international conference.

Hon. Minister of State in charge of Primary and Secondary Education, Gaspard Twagirayezu ( far right) followed the discussions.

Dr. Christine Niyizamwiyitira (between), Head of ICT in Education Department at REB, speaking in break up session during eLearning Africa Conference.