ICDL Africa recently hosted the ICDL Africa Forum 2023 under the theme “Digital Literacy for All: Tackling Challenges and Overcoming Barriers in Africa.” The forum looked to not only to discuss the opportunities and challenges in promoting digital literacy across various sectors in Africa but also to celebrate exceptional achievements at the ICDL Africa Best Practice Awards Ceremony.
“In today’s fast-paced digital era, digital literacy is not just a skill; it’s a necessity. Yet, not everyone has equal access to the resources needed to acquire these essential skills. The ICDL Africa Forum 2023 aimed to identify these challenges and find innovative solutions, exploring the pivotal role of government institutions, discussing innovative approaches to digital skills training, and sharing best practices in digital education,” Ms. Solange Umulisa, ICDL Africa General Manager remarked.
The event brought together more than 250 key stake holders from governments, organizations and ATCs from more than 30 African Countries. More than 700 people followed the event virtually. The aim of the forum was to have conversations around tackling challenges and overcoming barriers in promoting digital literacy in Africa. Africa is growing and promoting digital literacy is key in achieving the visions and goals set out by the various governments. The ICDL GM, Solange called on all to work together and have digital skills devolved to ensure all benefit even where resources are hard to come by.
The guest of honor, the Prime Cabinet Secretary Hon Musalia Mudavadi from Kenya gave his speech virtually. He noted that the government is implementing the bottom up economic model and digitization of services is a key aspect of this ambitious strategic plan. To ensure the continent is transformed, there is need to train all in the public and private sector to use technology in all sectors. To achieve this, institutions like ICDL become pivotal in achieving this. With the uptake of ICDL, the workforce will be empowered to meet the ever changing requirement at the work place that require digital skills. All the speakers at the forum underscored what governments are doing to achieve transformation through provision of digital skills to its populations. Clearly, the African continent is up for a transformative era. As put by the ICDL Foundation CEO, Damien, the most important resource in the African continent is its people. By focusing on the people through digital skills empowerment, the continent is set to take an upward leap just as other parts of the world have achieved significant growth through ICDL adoption.
During the forum an MOU was signed between ICDL Africa and the Republic of Guinea through the Director General of Innovation in the ministry of higher education and scientific research and Innovation. This is a key milestone for the Republic of Guinea as they adopt ICDL as their digital skills standard.
The forum came to a climax during the award ceremony. This was to recognize best practices in different categories in government, organizations and the ATCs. There was dance and singing as different personalities received the awards for the hard work, exceptional performance and innovation in their respective categories. Notable was the award that went two young students from Kenya and Uganda for their exceptional performance in the ICDL Africa Digital Explorer Competition.
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