His Excellency Mr. Demeke Mekonnen, Minister of Education of the Federal Republic of Ethiopia, and Ms Irina Bokova, UNESCO Director General, laid the foundation stone for the future building of IICBA in Addis Ababa on 23 February 2010.

The ceremony was attended by high ranking Ministry of Education officials and the UNESCO delegation that accompanied Ms Bokova on her first visit to Ethiopia for the Ninth High Level Group Meeting on EFA held in Addis Ababa on 23-25 February 2010.

It is recalled that the Ethiopian government has provided a premium plot of land for the construction of IICBA's office building close to the premises of United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA).

The African Virtual University conducted the concluding meeting the Multinational Teacher Education Program from 2nd to 3rd February 2010 in Nairobi, Kenya. The purposes of the concluding meeting were to:

1. Present the status of the implementation of the project

2. Present the results of the pilot phase in 4 participating countries

3. Agree on the implementation process in the 12 participating institutions

4. Launch the Teacher Education Virtual Consortium

5. Build synergies with existing national and international teacher education initiatives

6. Raise awareness on how the ICT integrated program is contributing to the achievement of the MDGs

Upon invitation of AVU, UNESCO BREDA and IICBA participated in the meeting, in which Mr. Temechegn Engida was represented DIR/BREDA and Officer-In-Charge of IICBA. As a representative Mr. Engida attended as well as presented highlights of the TTISSA, IICBA contribution to the implementation of TTISA with a focus on the use of ICT in teacher education.

Ministry of Higher and Tertiary Education of Zimbabwe and the UNESCO International Institute for Capacity Building in Africa (IICBA), has been conducted from 15—17 December 2009. This workshop for SADC countries is the second of IICBA’s interventions at Regional Economic Communities (RECs) level, the first being held in Ouagadougou (Burkina Faso) for ECOWAS countries in July 2009. The workshop began by introduction of participants and was attended by representatives of eight countries from SADC and two regional initiatives, namely ADEA and SADC—REEP.

As part of the opening ceremony, Mr. Julien Daboué, the Acting Director of IICBA, thanked the Government of Zimbabwe, particularly the Ministry of Higher and Tertiary Education, for agreeing not only to host the workshop but also to contribute to its organization. He then stressed the fact that ICT has now become an essential component of educational systems due to the impressive development and potential application of technologies over the past fifteen years. Mr. Daboue finally stated that, taking into account the essential role played by teachers in these processes, IICBA has made ICTs in education the prime target of its actions. And the best way to reach them is through the institutions involved in their training and education.

Dr. Fay Chung, the founding Director of IICBA, on her part stressed the role of ICT in the development of education in Africa. She stressed that SADC countries should work together in order to progress and the use of ICT is vital in this process. She also emphasized that Africa countries are at a stage in which we have the high-tech like aeroplanes and low-tech like donkey-cart. She concluded her remark by stressing the need to use technologies for the benefit of the rural people.

The formal opening was made by HE Senator Lutho A. Tapela, the Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Higher and Tertiary Education of the Government of Zimbabwe. Beginning his talk by some analogies on participation, HE urged the audience to participate and use their mind effectively and efficiently throughout the workshop period as well as in their respective countries. As part of his formal opening, HE Mr. Tapela stated he is aware of the objectives of the workshop which are threefold:

• To identify the teacher competencies applicable in the African context

• To develop a framework of ICT-enhanced teacher standards for Africa.

• To validate the developed framework at regional level

The second sub-regional workshop of IICBA has brought a number of professionals from different countries of SADC and two regional initiatives. It is believed that such a workshop will contribute its share to regional integration in Africa.

Do 14 ao 18 de setembro de 2009 o IICBA realizou o primeiro seminário dirigido aos PALOP (Países Africanos com Língua Oficial Português) e Guiné Equatorial (membro associado PALOP). O tema do seminário foi a "Gestão de Instituições de Formação de Docentes".

O Seminário teve lugar na cidade da Praia, Cabo Verde. Contou com 26 participantes provenientes de quatro dos cinco PALOP (Angola, Cabo Verde, Guiné-Bissau e Moçambique) e Guiné Equatorial países.

L’IIRCA a organisé son premier atelier sous-régional pour la Communauté économique des États de l’Afrique de l’Ouest (CEDEAO) du 14 au 16 juillet 2009 auquel ont pris part 11 pays sur 15. Les objectifs étaient les suivants :

• Identifier les compétences des enseignants applicables dans le contexte africain ;

• Développer un cadre de compétences renforcées par les TIC pour les des enseignants en Afrique ;

• Valider un cadre développé au niveau régional.

Cet atelier, organisé pour les pays de la CEDEAO, s’inscrit dans le cadre d’une série de quatre ateliers. Il a été ouvert et clôturé par S.E. le Vice-ministre de l’Éducation de base et de l’Alphabétisation, M. Ousseni Tamboura. Les trois jours d’atelier ont commencé par une introduction de M. Julien Daboué sur la vision, la mission et les présentes activités de l’IIRCA. Ensuite M. Temechegn Engida a donné un aperçu des compétences des enseignants renforcées par les TIC en présentant un modèle d’intégration de 4 étapes. La troisième présentation a été faite par M. Abdoulaye Barry sur la situation de l’éducation dans les pays de l’Afrique de l’Ouest.

Puis les participants ont présenté un bref rapport sur l’état des TIC et la formation des enseignants dans leurs pays respectifs. Le travail majeur sur le développement des compétences des enseignants renforcées par les TIC a commencé par des sessions où les participants étaient séparés en trois groupes pour identifier les standards les plus pertinents et les plus larges ainsi que les indicateurs pour chacune des 4 étapes du modèle proposé par l’IIRCA. Chaque session était suivie par un rapport du groupe et une discussion.

L’atelier sous-régional a réuni un nombre de professionnels venant de différent pays de la francophone et anglophone de la CEDEAO.