TOBBY VISION COMPUTERS

Saturday, 7 November 2015

Exhibition on TVET

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia 28^th October 2015: The African Union Commission in

Partnership with FHI360, a USAID-funded project under the African Union Partnership (AUP) has organised an Exhibition parallel to the

1^st Specialized Technical Committee Meeting on Education Science and Technology (STC-EST). The exhibition that involves model Technical, Vocational, Education and Training (TVET) and exhibitors show casing Space Science initiatives from African countries runs from 27^th to 30^th October 2015.

The TVET exhibition is an occasion for programmes to showcase the most promising TVET models for the 21^st century. Themed

“Connecting the Dots… from Skills Development to Jobs”, the exhibition is part of the implementation of the Continental Strategy for TVET, aimed at strengthening continental, regional and national capacities to implement TVET programmes. The ten TVET centres showcasing their programmes are part of the top twenty identified from a bottom up competition that sought to identify good practices across the continent.

These model TVET centres will be used to tell the African TVET story and assist with rebranding and marketing TVET as a pathway to youth skills development. In so doing, the model TVET centres will not only be assisting to mainstream TVET, but also to support youth entrepreneurship outcomes.

The exhibition provides a forum for Ministers and Social Partners attending the Special Technical

Committee (STC) Meeting on Education, Science and Technology to share experiences and learn from each other the best practices on TVET. It also accords opportunity for participants to explore potential partnerships which will ultimately enhance intra African Technical Corporation in Skills Development.

Among the model programmes in the exhibition include Selam David Roescli TVET from Ethiopia, Koforidua Polytechnic from Ghana and Le Centre de Formation aux Métiers Portuaires et à la Logistique (CFMPL) from Senegal.

Also organized in the margins of the STC-EST on the 29^th of October is a Panel discussion on implementing the TVET Paradigm Shift. The panelists will include TVET teachers/instructors, managers, trainees, graduates, employers/private sector, foundations/workforce development support institutions/NGOs, media and policy makers. Discussions are aimed at soliciting ideas on how to maximize benefits from TVET programs for youth employability, innovation and entrepreneurship in Africa.

Space Science and Technology exhibition is meant to showcase successful initiatives that have demonstrated applications of space technology in addressing socio-economic needs for sustainable development contributing to the overarching African Agenda 2063. Exhibitors include Entoto Observatory and Research Centre (EORC), African Group on Earth Observation Systems of Systems (AfriGEOSS), Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT), Square Kilometre Array (SKA) and African Association of Remote Sensing for Environment (AARSE). The objective of this exhibition exercise is to create awareness to Policy makers about the benefits of Space Science and Technology applications towards the adoption of the African Space Policy and Strategy as instruments to guide the African Space programmes.

It will be noted that the Commission, through HRST, is coordinating implementation of the Global Monitoring of Environment and Security in Africa (GMES & Africa) initiative that is meant to provide Earth Observation services to inform policy and decision making at National, Regional and Continental levels. The exhibition is part of the process of linking technical information to policy making in achieving African Agenda 2063.

This Exhibition is slated to end on

30^th October 2015.

For further information, please contact:

Directorate of Information and Communication | African Union Commission I E-mail: DIC@african union.orgI Web Site: www.au.intI Addis Ababa | Ethiopia

Thursday, 5 November 2015

African Ministers of Education, Science and Technology call for awareness raising and resource mobilization to strengthen E-S-T in the Continent

Press Release No. 319/2015

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia 30th October 2015: The first meeting of the Specialized Technical Committee on Education, Science and Technology STC-EST was held from the 27th to the 30th of October 2015, at the AU Commission Headquarters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The four-day meeting, which brought together senior education, science and technology officials, Ministers and development partners, was characterized by experts’ and partners’ sessions, a Pan- African Conference on Teacher Development and a TVET exhibition. It culminated in the Meeting of Ministers on Friday, 30th October, when it finally wrapped up.

Addressing the Meeting of Ministers, H.E. Dr. Martial De-Paul Ikounga, Commissioner for Human Resources, Science and Technology, underlined the merger of the mutually complementing sectors of Education, Science, Technology, as decided by the Heads of State and Government and that this would strengthen the amalgamation of the three sectors to deliver on Agenda 2063. He underscored the need to mobilize domestic resources for the sustainability and ownership of sectorial programmes.

H.E. Mrs. Youssouf Hadidja Alim, Minister of Basic Education of the Republic of Cameroon and COMEDAF VI Chair, remarked that the transition to STCs is an opportunity for renewal, self-reliance, enhancing ownership, providing domestic resources and lessening over-dependence on external funding. She added that the continent needed to educate, train and equip African citizens to effectively participate in the development of the continent and achieve the collective objectives of Agenda 2063.

Description: Description: F:\New folder\DSC_0190.JPGThe Meeting of Ministers featured a keynote presentation by Calestous Juma, Professor of the Practice of International Development at the Belfer Centre for Science and International Affairs, Harvard Kennedy School of Government. Professor Juma observed that Africa’s Agenda 2063 provides an ideal framework for embarking on long-term institutional reforms that will help to reposition the continent as a strategic player in the global economy. Achieving this goal, he said, will require reforms to align education, research and innovation with long-term socio-economic objectives. Professor Juma noted that the STC on Education, Science and Technology is well-positioned to play a leading role of fostering the needed reforms to improve the integration of education, research and innovation for a knowledge-based and technology-driven economy.

Another key feature of the first STC-EST was the awarding of top ten TVET programmes in Africa. Forty centres across the continent had applied for the coveted award – twenty were selected and ten were awarded. The Ministers elected the Bureau of STC-EST 1, comprising Ministries in charge of Education, Science and Technology from Members States. Egypt was elected as the Chair, Nigeria as 1st Vice Chair, South Sudan as 2nd Vice Chair, Cameroon as 3rd Vice Chair and Botswana as Rapporteur. The Ministers considered and adopted the various reports presented by the parallel sessions on education, science and technology, TVET and the Pan African Conference on Teacher Development. They called on Member States, the AU Commission, RECs, Civil Society, the Private Sector and Development Partners to work together in popularizing and raising awareness on the programmes expounded during the STC-EST, and in mobilizing resources for their effective implementation.

AF/YA

For more information please contact:

Adiatou Fatty, Communication Officer, Human Resources, Science and Technology Department, African Union Commission | Telephone: +251912661953 | Email: Fattya@africa-union.org ;

Tuesday, 3 November 2015

Exhibition on TVET and Space Science & Technology in Africa

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia 28th October 2015: The African Union
Commission in Partnership with FHI360, a USAID-funded project under the African Union Partnership (AUP) has organised an Exhibition parallel to the 1st Specialized Technical Committee Meeting on Education Science and Technology (STC-EST). The exhibition that involves model Technical, Vocational, Education and Training (TVET) and exhibitors show casing Space Science initiatives from African countries runs from 27th to 30th October 2015.

The TVET exhibition is an occasion for programmes to showcase the most promising TVET models for the 21st century. Themed “Connecting the Dots… from Skills Development to Jobs”, the exhibition is part of the implementation of the Continental Strategy for TVET, aimed at strengthening continental, regional and national capacities to implement TVET programmes. The ten TVET centres showcasing their programmes are part of the top twenty identified from a bottom up competition that sought to identify good practices across the continent.

These model TVET centres will be used to tell the African TVET story and assist with rebranding Description: Description: F:\Tunisia Photo.jpgand marketing TVET as a pathway to youth skills development. In so doing, the model TVET centres will not only be assisting to mainstream TVET, but also to support youth entrepreneurship outcomes.

The exhibition provides a forum for Ministers and Social Partners attending the Special Technical Committee (STC) Meeting on Education, Science and Technology to share experiences and learn from each other the best practices on TVET. It also accords opportunity for participants to explore potential partnerships which
will ultimately enhance intra African Technical Corporation in Skills Development.

Description: Description: G:\DSC_0319.JPGAlso organized in the margins of the STC-EST on the 29th of

October is a Panel discussion on implementing the TVET Paradigm Shift. The panellists will include TVET teachers/instructors, managers, trainees, graduates, employers/private sector, foundations/workforce development support institutions/NGOs, media and policy makers. Discussions are aimed at soliciting ideas on how to maximize benefits from TVET programs for youth employability, innovation and entrepreneurship in Africa.

Description: Description: G:\DSC_0291.JPGIt will be noted that the Commission, through HRST, is coordinating implementation of the Global Monitoring of Environment and Security in Africa (GMES & Africa) initiative that is meant to provide Earth Observation services to inform policy and decision making at National, Regional and Continental levels. The exhibition is part of the process of linking technical information to policy making in achieving African Agenda 2063.

This Exhibition is slated to end on 30th October 2015.

For further information, please contact:

Directorate of Information and Communication | African Union Commission I E-mail: DIC@african-union.org I Web Site: www.au.int I Addis Ababa | Ethiopia

Monday, 26 October 2015

Gitex Technology Week

The 35th GITEX technology week has finally come to an end.

Global visionaries from the world's leading companies attended Including representatives from Facebook, Alibaba, Coca Cola, Boeing, BP and Vodafone.

We happen to see the world's largest Drone manufacturers and a real time Robotics cafe live in action. Other focus was on the 3D printing and Smart Cities.