Terms of Reference for Internship at UNESCO-IICBA Addis Ababa, Ethiopia Communication and Research Assistant 2010

1.Background

Established in 1999, the UNESCO International Institute for Capacity Building in Africa (IICBA) is one of six UNESCO Institutes and Centers under the direction of the UNESCO Secretariat. The only UNESCO Institute in Africa, it is mandated to build up and reinforce capacities for educational development and reform of its 53 Member States, and promote international cooperation for the development of education through the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) and the African Union (AU). The Institute derives its distinct comparative advantage within the UNESCO family from the following attributes:

IICBA’s Governing Board met at the UNECA Conference Centre in Addis Ababa on 26 - 27 February 2010. The meeting discussed the implementation of program activities in 2009, and the financial report of the year. It also examined in details the proposed activities and budget for 2010.

The Board has also been presented with the draft IICBA 2010-2015 Strategic Plan and discussed some of the important points in the draft with the consultants who are working on it and IICBA's staff.

IICBA's Governing Board has 12 members and is chaired by Mr. Duncan Hindle, Director of Education, South Africa. Also in attendance were the representative of the DG of UNESCO, Mr Qian Tang, ADG/ED a.i., Ms. Ann-Therese Ndong-Jatta, Director BREDA, Mr. Jean Pierre Ezin (Commissioner, Human Resource, Science and Technology (HRST), African Union Commission (AUC), Ms. Vera Brenda Ngosi (Director, HRST, AUC), Mr Edem Adubra (Chief, HED/TE), Mr. Lizhong Yu (East China Normal University), Prof. Youqun Ren (East China Normal University), and Prof. Zhou Nanzhao (Co-Director, INRULED, P. R. China).

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.