Saturday, October 07, 2006 Int’l ICT congress to serve as venue for sharing info
THE government is inviting all stakeholders of the information and communications technology (ICT) sector to participate in the International Congress on ICT: Global Challenge in Education, which will kick off on Nov. 16 at the Waterfront Cebu City Hotel and Casino.
The three-day event, which aims to gather more than a thousand delegates from more than 40 countries, is an initiative of the Philippine government to prepare the country’s education sector for the global challenges and opportunities brought about by rapid developments in ICT.
Enrique Grecia, director of the Commission on Higher Education (Ched) and co-chairman of the event, said the congress, which is estimated to cost P15 million, will be funded by the Global Knowledge Partnership (GKP), a multi-stakeholder network promoting innovation and advancement in knowledge for development (K4D) and ICT for Development (ICT4D).
GKP, a network of over 100 members from 40 countries, brings together the public and private sector and civil society organizations with the goal of sharing knowledge and building partnership in K4D and ICT4D.
Issues
Grecia said the event will also tackle the issues and challenges that have surfaced with the emergence of open learning and distance education.
“The availability of new information and communication technologies highlights the potential contribution of distance education to widen access to education at all levels, overcome geographical distances, multiply training opportunities and empower teachers and learners through access to information and innovative learning strategies — such as face-to-face, teaching in the classroom, from a distance and in non-formal and informal settings,” he said.
The potential of ICT to improve the quality of education in the country has prompted the government — through Ched, Department of Education and the Technical Education Skills and Development Authority — to organize the international event.
The congress seeks to gather practitioners of e-learning, distance education, instructional designers, faculty, teachers and ICT trainers so they can share information and experiences and discuss solutions to problems, Grecia said.
The event is co-organized by the Cebu International Distance Education College, in partnership with the Provincial Government and Cebu City.
It is also being supported by the Cebu Educational Development Foundation for Information Technology and the ICT Council of the Province of Cebu. (JBN)
