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INFORMATION TECHNOLOGIES AND EDUCATION FOR THE POOR IN AFRICA (ITEPA) Recommendations for a Pro-Poor ICT4D Non-Formal Education Policy Dan Wagner (University of Pennsylvania) Bob Day (CSIR, South Africa) Joseph S. Sun (University of Pennsylvania) Summary More than half of Africa’s youth and adults do not have basic literacy skills and/or have not completed primary or secondary school. It is deeply concerning how little serious attention has been paid to the potential ways in which ICT can enhance such skills, as part of a pro-poor model of ICT for Development (ICT4D) The “Information Technologies and Education for the Poor in Africa” (ITEPA) report, is designed to focus attention on what is being and has been attempted in this domain in some of the poorest communities in Africa.
The report provides broad conclusions, a set of recommendations, and thoughts for the future. The main conclusions deal with the following issues: moving towards pro-poor ICT-based sustainable development models; why local content is central to African ICT4D; how informational needs are critical both for individual development (broader literacy) and for project success; the growing role of capacity building in Africa; the need for credible action research; and the increasing need for multi-level coordination.
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