ICTs AWARD TO MINDSET NETWORK

Mindset Network, a South African non-governmental organisation (NGO), has won the 2006 Development Gateway Award. The award issues a $100,000 cash prize as acknowledgement of excellence in the use of information and communications technologies (ICTs) for development, and recognises projects, organisations and individuals who improve the lives of young people.

"We are proud to receive such recognition by the international community," said Vis Naidoo, Mindset's CEO. "It gives us confidence that in providing educational support to our youth and communities, we are on the right track. However, there is much more work that we need to do to ensure that the benefits of this kind of support to both the education and health sectors for South Africa and Africa is more widespread."

The Development Gateway Foundation is an international NGO that provides web-based tools to make aid and development efforts more effective. Mindset Network is a not-for-profit organisation set up in 2002 to provide educational solutions for the formal education, health and livelihoods sectors. Mindset Network was selected from 160 nominees for the award.
www.mindset.co.za

photo credit: PHOTO CREDIT: ANTHEA DAVISON

INDIA'S NEW ONE-STOP EDUCATION PORTAL

The Ministry of Human Resource Development in India recently introduced Sakshat, an education portal that provides answers to education queries and allows users to participate in real time virtual classrooms. Working with the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE), Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) and the National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS), the Ministry has created the interactive site, which was launched on Republic Day, 26 January 2007.

In addition to providing educational content for learners, Sakshat has information on getting financial aid for education and reliable data on education centres and schools in India. In a first time venture, the CBSE is launching real time classrooms on the website, allowing students in any part of the country to register for classes and access quality education online.
www.sakshat.ac.in

NIGERIAN, INDIAN OPEN UNIVERSITIES COLLABORATE

India's National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS) recently collaborated with the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN) to develop an On Demand Examination System (ODES). Supported by COL, this joint project involved a team from NIOS spending two weeks at NOUN to work with the faculty and provide technical support in developing the system. The ODES enables NOUN to create a bank of exam questions so that students can write exams when they are ready, rather than according to a schedule. The system is designed so that there are enough exam questions to ensure the system isn't compromised. This project is an example of growing south-south collaboration among institutions from the developing world involved in open and distance learning.

AFRICAN ACCESS TO KNOWLEDGE ALLIANCE ESTABLISHED

A group representing education, library and information science, law and technology is moving forward with a collaborative effort to address issues of copyright and access to knowledge in Africa. The African Access to Knowledge Alliance, which was formed at the African Copyright Forum in Kampala, Uganda in 2005, has now been registered in Uganda and Botswana. This enables the Alliance to move ahead with its strategic plan and fundraising. A number of international funding agencies have expressed interest in supporting the Alliance.

Registration of the Alliance was also a collaborative effort, with representatives from the Southern African Development Community Centre for Distance Education (SADC-CDE), the Botswana College for Open and Distance Learning (BOCODOL), the University of Botswana and Botswana Accountancy College lending assistance. An Interim Board has been elected, with Mr. Thulaganyo Thutoetsile, Co-ordinator of SADC-CDE acting as Interim President. The Alliance is holding its inaugural meeting in early 2007.

More information about copyright issues, the African Copyright Forum and members of the African Access to Knowledge Alliance is online at www.col.org/copyright.

NEW PRIZE FOR ICT PARTNERSHIPS

The Stockholm Challenge GKP Awards 2007 is a new prize launched by Global Knowledge Partnership (GKP) and the Stockholm Challenge. Designed as part of the Stockholm Challenge 2008, the new award will open in four categories related to information and communications technologies for development (ICT4D): Culture, Economic Development, Education and Public Administration.

The new award will focus on the role of multi-stakeholder partnerships in ICT for development. All Stockholm Challenge 2008 applicants in the respective categories will be eligible for the Stockholm Challenge GKP Awards 2007. The Awards will close for entries on 31 August 2007; the Stockholm Challenge entry deadline is 31 December 2007.

The twelve selected finalists, three in each category, will be sponsored to attend the 3rd Global Knowledge Conference in Kuala Lumpur from 11-13 December 2007. They will exhibit their projects, network and be celebrated as finalists and possibly winners of the Stockholm Challenge GKP Awards 2007.
www.stockholmchallenge.se
www.globalknowledge.org

BOCODOL OFFERS TERTIARY COURSES

The Botswana College of Distance and Open Learning (BOCODOL) is working in partnership with Zimbabwe Open University (ZOU) to offer tertiary level courses. BOCODOL students can now take diploma programmes in Business Management and Human Resources management.

As BOCODOL's strategic partner, ZOU is overseeing quality assurance of all aspects of the programmes' development, delivery and assessment systems. BOCODOL diploma holders will be welcome at ZOU for degree programmes.

BOCODOL provides school equivalency programmes as well as vocational, management and professional courses through open and distance learning (ODL). Its mandate is to make quality learning accessible to people who cannot access learning through the conventional education system.
www.bocodol.ac.bw