Connecting Africa: Dr. Donald Kaberuka, Rt. Hon Gordon Brown MP and Sir Tim Berners-Lee High Level Meeting on Education and Technology

Tunis, Tunisia, 7 May 2012 – The President of the African Development Bank (AfDB), Dr. Donald Kaberuka, the former British Prime Minister Rt. Hon Gordon Brown MP, and renowned computer scientist, and founder of the World Wide Web Foundation, Sir Tim Berners Lee will convene a high level meeting on Education and Technology entitled “Connecting Africa” at the 22nd World Economic Forum (WEF) on Africa on May 10, 2012. The purpose of this meeting is to explore ways in which modern technology can improve access and quality of education in Africa and how to scale up the most successful programs. Ministers of education from over 17 countries are invited as well as representatives of technology companies attending the WEF.

The meeting will be held on 10 May in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia and will take the shape of a roundtable discussion. The key issues to be discussed are using technology to improve the quality and access of education, particularly primary and secondary levels, partnering with the public and private spheres for real political commitment and results, and creating programmes to address and measure improvements in the quality of education for participating African countries.

This meeting will also include a a lunch hosted at the African Union well as consultations on the African Development Bank’s new Human Capital Development Strategy.

The meeting follows the 1st Africa Forum on Science Technology and Innovation and will also contribute to the implementation of the Nairobi Declaration, which was signed by governments at the Forum.

CONTACT details:

Dieter Gijsbrechts (in Tunis): d.gijsbrechts@afdb.org
Nawsheen Elaheboocus: n.elaheebocus@afdb.org