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On 23 February 2021, UNESCO convened an online seminar to accelerate the implementation of the and set out strategies to leverage the partnership to support the recovery from COVID-19 education disruption and the building of resilient learning systems. The seminar was joined by representatives from the Republic of Korea, project implementation teams from beneficiary countries Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana and Senegal, Directors and programme specialists from UNESCO Offices in Abidjan, Abuja, Accra and Dakar Office, the project team of the Headquarters, and representatives of UNICEF.

The project aims at strengthening the resilience of learning systems through the use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT). Key interventions of the second phase of the project (2020-2023) include support for digital transformation at school level, provision of digital skills programmes for teachers and reinforcing the national ICT in education policy environment.

The cross-country seminar allowed the national teams from Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana and Senegal to share the results of the needs assessment and the development of country-specific work plans. It also gave the opportunity to reflect on synergies for the way ahead and to propose concrete solutions for improving internal and external communication, as well as for peer learning and resource sharing.

Since the first phase of the project was implemented in Mozambique, Rwanda and Zimbabwe from 2016 to 2019, the Republic of Korea has invested 8 million USD in supporting African countries. “The first phase successfully laid the educational foundation by developing e-school models and standard teacher training programs, and strengthening remote learning capacity of higher education institutions and policy development for ICT in education” reminded Ms Heejeong Ahn, Deputy Director of the International Education Cooperation Division at the Ministry of Education of the Republic of Korea, in her capacity as representative of the project’s donor. With today's seminar, I hope that the second phase will initiate smoothly in all countries and meet their individual needs.”

Fengchun Miao, chief of the Unit for Technology and AI in Education at UNESCO headquarters, placed the project in the broader context of UNESCO’s commitment to fostering resilient education systems in Africa. Through the support of the KFIT project but also other donors such as Huawei, UNESCO is supporting eight African countries in building more resilient learning systems with a goal of reaching a total of ten countries, one thousand schools, ten thousand teachers and one million students.

Mr Mamadou Talla, Minister of National Education of Senegal and Dr. Yaw Osei Adutwum, Minister of Education-Designate of Ghana, delivered opening remarks during the seminar. Mr Talla reiterated that “digital is not an end in itself. It must meet the needs of the profession. It must be at the service of education. The digital is not and does not create a new discipline. It is the support of already existing disciplines”. Dr Adutwum highlighted the importance of digital literacy for teachers and learners in improving quality education and in ensuring continuity of learning during periods of disruption or crisis, such as the one caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

In a context where, in the words of the UNESCO Assistant Director-General for education Stefania Giannini, “lost learning is no longer being counted in days and weeks, but in months”, the cross-country seminar highlighted how the KFIT project is putting in place concrete measures to help build back better. National country teams are ready to speed up project implementation, planting seeds for improving the quality and resilience of their respective education systems.

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