Gateways Study Visit - Egypt
14-16 May 2024, Cairo, Egypt
UNESCO and UNICEF, in partnership with Egypt, hosted the first Gateways study visit from 14 to 16 May 2024 to share experiences developing, sustaining, and improving public digital learning platforms.
Representatives from over 20 countries convened in Cairo to understand how Egypt supports public education with the Egyptian Knowledge Bank (EKB), the country's national digital learning platform.
Participants were welcomed by the Prime Minister of Egypt, H.E. Mostafa Madbouly who congratulated UNESCO, UNICEF, and Gateways countries for advancing international cooperation to strengthen public digital learning platforms.
UNESCO
The Egyptian team, based in the Ministry of Higher Education and Research, explained how the EKB grew from humble beginnings in 2016 into platform that serves millions of learners, teachers, researchers, and families across the country. The team shared successes and challenges and reflected on what it knows now that it wishes it had known when the platform was first being developed. These candid reflections helped representatives from other countries learn from the Egyptian experience.
The study visit was a model of peer learning. It allowed professionals who oversee public digital learning platforms in a national context opportunities to learn and exchange with their counterparts in other countries.
The visit also featured presentations and discussions with international experts who shared recommendations about supporting public education in online and digital mediums.
Participating countries
| Bangladesh | Chile | |
| - Bahrain | -Bangladesh | |
| - Chile | - Finland | |
| - France | - Indonesia | |
| - Jordan | - Kenya | |
| - Lebanon | - Liberia | |
| - Libya | - Malaysia | |
| - Malta | - Mauritius | |
| - Nigeria | - Oman | |
| - Palestine | - Syria | |
| - Tanzania | - Uganda | |
| - United Arab Emirates | - Uruguay |
Egyptian Knowledge Bank study visit - participant list
The Egyptian Knowledge Bank (EKB) core team and UNESCO-UNICEF Gateways Secretariat
Study visit programme
Presentations
- , Deputy Minister for Technological Development, Egypt: Digital transformation in Education
- , Regional Manager Africa, Elsevier: Benefiting from partnership – EKB and Elsevier
- Manager, Global Digital Library: Open educational resources – Offerings from the Global Digital Library (GDL)
- , Chief Technology Officer, Notion Wave: Publishing platforms
- , Program Coordinator in Arab Regional Office, ITU: Public digital infrastructure and connections to public digital learning platforms
- , EKB Training and Marketing coordinator: Egyptian Knowledge Bank (EKB) as an ecosystem and knowledge project
- , Electronic Exam System coordinator, EKB: Electronic Exam System
- , EKB Data Center Administrator: From Papyrus Scrolls to Digital Horizons – Decoding EKB’s Success Factors
- , EKB Data Center Administrator: Hieroglyphs to Hyperlinks - Navigating the EKB
- Mark West (UNESCO) and Frank van Cappelle (UNICEF), Gateways to Public Digital Learning Initiative – Facilitating learning and cooperation across countries
- , LMS Coordinator, EKB: Learning management systems
- , Advisor to the EKB: EKB Professional Services
- , (The Digital School): Lessons learned from the Digital School
Agenda
| 13 May | 2024 |
|---|---|
| During the day | Arrival in Cairo |
| 19:45 | Meet in lobby of Holiday Inn City Stars Hotel |
| 20:30 - 22:30 | Welcome dinner hosted by the Egypt Ministry of Higher Education and Research (Azhar Park Citadel Restaurant) |
| 14 May | 2024 |
|---|---|
| 6:30 – 08:00 | Breakfast at Holiday Inn City Stars Hotel at the Windows restaurant |
| 08:15 | Meet in lobby of Holiday Inn City Stars Hotel |
| 08:30 - 09:30 | Transportation to the Ministry of Higher Education in the Administrative Capital |
| 09:30 – 09:45 | Welcome address: H.E. Mohamed Ayman Ashour, Egyptian Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research |
| 09:45 – 10:00 | Welcome: Nuria Sanz, UNESCO country representative to Egypt, and Fazlul Haque, UNICEF acting county representative to Egypt |
| 10:00 - 10:30 | Gateways to Public Digital Learning Initiative – Facilitating learning and cooperation across countries: Mark West (UNESCO) and Frank van Cappelle (UNICEF) |
| 10:30 – 10:45 | Egyptian Knowledge Bank (EKB) as an ecosystem and knowledge project: Mahmoud Dawoud, EKB Training & Marketing coordinator |
| 10:45 – 11:00 | EKB Professional Services: Ola Laurence, advisor to the EKB |
| 11:00 – 11:30 | Break |
| 11:30 – 12:00 | Self-introduction of the participants |
| 12:00 – 12:15 | Negotiations with publishers – Technical requirements and advice: Mahmoud Hussein, EKB General coordinator |
| 12:15 – 12:30 | From Papyrus Scrolls to Digital Horizons – Decoding EKB’s Success Factors: Maged El Sadek, EKB Data Center Administrator |
| 12:30 – 13:30 | Interactive discussion with country focal points - Sharing national experiences |
| 13:30 – 14:00 | Public digital infrastructure and connections to public digital learning platforms: Karim Abdelghani, Program Coordinator in Arab Regional Office, International Telecommunication Union (ITU) |
| 14:00 – 15:00 | Lunch |
| 15:00 – 15:30 | Transportation to the Office of Prime Minister of Egypt |
| 15:30 – 16:45 | Meeting with H.E. Mostafa Madbouly, Prime Minister of Egypt |
| 16:45 – 17:45 | Transportation to Holiday Inn City Stars Hotel |
| 18:30 | Meet in lobby of Holiday Inn City Stars Hotel |
| 18:45 – 19:30 | Transportation to Arab Music Institute |
| 19:30 – 22:00 | Music and cultural performance at Arab Music Institute (22 Ramses, Oraby, Al Azbakeya, Cairo Governorate) |
| 15 May | 2024 |
|---|---|
| 6:30 – 08:00 | Breakfast at Holiday Inn City Stars Hotel at the Windows restaurant |
| 08:15 | Meet in lobby of Holiday Inn City Stars Hotel |
| 08:30 – 09:30 | Transportation to the Ministry of Higher Education in the Administrative Capital |
| 09:30 – 10:00 | Lessons learned from the Digital School: Waleed Al-Ali, Secretary-General, The Digital School |
| 10:00 – 10:30 | Benefiting from partnership – EKB and Elsevier: Amr Moneim, Regional Manager Africa, Elsevier |
| 10:30 – 11:00 | Open educational resources – Offerings form the Global Digital Library (GDL): Cecilie Eftedal, Manager, GDL |
| 11:00 – 11:30 | Break |
| 11:30 – 12:00 | Open Access Agreement Initiative: Prof. Dr. Walaa Sheta, Executive President, Science, Technology, & Innovation Funding Authority |
| 12:00 – 12:30 | Hieroglyphs to Hyperlinks - Navigating the EKB: Maged El Sadek, Data Center Administrator, EKB |
| 12:30 – 13:00 | The digital transformation of education in Egypt – A journey in the making: Dr. Ahmad Daher, Deputy Minister for Technological Development, Egypt |
| 13:00 – 14:00 | Understanding the EKB services and solutions |
| Publishing platforms: Ehsan Mahmoudi, Chief Technology Officer, Notion Wave (20 minutes) | |
| Learning management systems: Mohamed El Araby, LMS Coordinator, EKB (15 minutes) | |
| Electronic Exam System: Mahmoud El Ghonimy, Electronic Exam System coordinator, EKB (15 minutes) | |
| 14:00 – 15:00 | Lunch |
| 15:00 – 16:15 | Interactive discussion |
| 16:30 | Transportation to the Grand Egyptian Museum and Giza Pyramids |
| 16 May | 2024 |
|---|---|
| 6:30 – 08:00 | Breakfast at Holiday Inn City Stars Hotel at the Windows restaurant |
| 08:30 – 09:00 | Hotel checkout: Guests may keep their luggage in the hotel storage room |
| 09:00 | Meet in lobby of Holiday Inn City Stars Hotel |
| 09:15 - 10:00 | Transportation to Ain Shams University (one of the largest universities in Egypt) |
| 10:00 – 11:45 | Sharing of country insights and experiences – Learning together and strengthening the Gateways community of practice |
| 11:45 – 12:00 | Conclusion – Next steps for the Gateways Initiative |
| 12:00 | Break |
| 12:45 – 14:00 | Visit to Ain Shams University |
| Afternoon | Participants departure and transfer to the airport |
Hosted by the Egyptian Ministry of Higher Education and Research and in partnership with the Egyptian Knowledge Bank
