UNESCO Follow up to MINEDAF VII
Programme of Work, 1998-99
Web site of Ministers of Education of African Member States sponsored by
UNESCO
This Web site of African Ministers of Education is a serious effort by UNESCO
and the Ministers of Education of African Member
States to explore in a concrete fashion the potentials of new information
and communications technologies in fostering exchanges, partnerships and
collaborations between the educational institutions of the different African
countries, UNESCO and other partners. Content will appear in both English and
French.
UNESCO has opted to collaborate in this venture with Africa
Online, one of the leading African Internet Service Providers, because of
their cross- country experience, in East Africa, Southern Africa and West
Africa. The MINEDAF Web site is hosted at the mirror-servers of Africa Online
in Boston, U.S.A., which provides rapid access rates and easy Internet links
to users from the African countries and elsewhere.
The wide dissemination of relevant African policy experiences and materials
will be a major feature of this Web Site during its first phase. It
will also disseminate information about African educational initiatives,
including "best practices" in education, influential national
and regional meetings, important policy documents and statements, news and
information of a wider regional appeal, activities of African National
Commissions for UNESCO, educational NGOs, African programmes and centres
of excellence, noteworthy educational research results, "bio-briefs"
of eminent African scholars and famous persons, etc.
The site will provide links to
African and other Web sites with similar concerns, including sites of African
Governments, the United Nations and
other multilateral organizations, bilateral agencies, educational Funds
and Foundations, education NGOs and other relevant entities.
Balance and representativeness of content are important considerations for
this
Web site of African Ministers of Education. A serious effort will therefore
need to be made to involve a cross-section of national and other partners, through the
aegis of the National Commissions for
UNESCO and the network of UNESCO
Field Offices in Africa, in order to obtain and present both varied and
relevant content from as wide a range of the African countries as
possible.
The second phase of the Web site will integrate databases into the site
(e.g., on fellowships or exchange opportunities, on programmes and centres of
excellence, on African experts and expertise, etc.). The databases will add
value for visitors to the site. The most crucial part of this phase will be
analyzing the data, designing the database structures and defining the flow of
information. Just as important will be the need to develop an interface that
allows visitors to query the databases by certain pre-defined search criteria
(e.g., on area of expertise, or countries for which fellowships or exchange
opportunities are available). The interface would also include online data
entry forms for collecting information from visitors. Remote administration
tools would be created to allow those responsible for the Ministers’ Web
site to add, delete, or change entries in the databases.
Incorporation of such technologies as voice and video on the UNESCO Web site
of African Ministers of Education --- approaches that are proving exciting and
promising in the industrial countries --- is not contemplated in the near
future, because our targeted users in many African countries would not be
able to benefit from these technologies due to bandwidth limitations.
Programme of Work, 1998-99
See also Programme of Work, 2000-2001
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