Through the unceasing global crisis, IITE has persisted in addressing its dedicated efforts towards the sustainable progression of the UNESCO – Chengdu Project on Integrating AI and Digital Innovations to Strengthen Inclusion and Equity of Education in Africa – the initiative developed and implemented through the rewarding partnership with the Chengdu Culture and Tourism Development Group LLC (China). The joint project, currently covering the Republics of Mauritius and Rwanda, has enjoyed extensive assistance from UNESCO Nairobi Office, National Commissions for UNESCO, and line ministries in the target countries.
Despite severe constraints caused by the COVID-19 outbreak and recurrence, IITE has managed to complete the key participatory phase in the focus region through conducting comprehensive needs assessments among major stakeholders in Mauritius and Rwanda and therewith identify the challenges and opportunities that individual learners and entire educational institutions faced through the pandemic.
Strongly supported by its home-based consultants in the target countries, IITE has finalized the insightful evaluation of the present technical and academic readiness of national education systems to enable ICT-based learning for the most vulnerable students, particularly for people with disabilities.
Through substantive interviews and online surveys the project revealed the main concerns and expectations of stakeholders about the use of innovative technology for achieving true inclusion and equity of education for persons with disabilities. Based on the project-related findings, IITE developed comprehensive country reports to lay the consistent groundwork for the project’s impactful advancement in the African region.