The Beijing Normal University organized, on August 18-20, 2021, in collaboration with the Chinese Ministry of Education and in partnership with international organizations, including ALECSO, UNESCO, and a number of higher education institutions, the Global Smart Education Conference 2021. Over five million persons followed this event online.
The Conference is designed to increase understanding of the latest achievements and trends in smart education, facilitate innovative integration of smart technologies, establish international platforms for educational research, exchange and cooperation, and invite policymakers, experts, scientists, researchers, educators, students, business representatives, and the media to contribute to the development of smart education.
H.E. Dr. Mohamed Ould Amar, Director-General of ALECSO, participated remotely in this event. In his statement at the closing session of the Conference, he indicated that “ALECSO considers the use of ICT for the development of education in the Arab World as one of its core priorities and focus areas, to which it attaches great importance and particular attention in its projects and programs. ALECSO is, in fact, keenly aware that new technologies do offer significant benefits and advantages to advance the education sector and prepare future generations to move forward and step into the Knowledge Society”. He added that “ALECSO has been working, during the past few years, on a Smart Learning Development Project in the Arab World, in cooperation and partnership with a number of international partners, including the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), and the Smart Learning Institute (SLI) of Beijing Normal University in China.” He recalled that “ALECSO and SLI are bound by a cooperation agreement that involves the implementation of various activities and services designed to promote smart learning, foster the effective use of ICT in education, and harness modern technologies, adequate educational tools and Open Educational Resources, as part of achieving the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, especially Goal 4 which aims at ensuring inclusive and equitable quality education and promoting lifelong learning opportunities for all.” He concluded by expressing his deep satisfaction with the fruitful cooperation between ALECSO and SLI, and reaffirming ALECSO’s support for the Initiative for Establishment of Belt and Road International Community for Open Educational Resources, and its readiness to help promote this initiative and encourage Arab educators and experts to benefit from it.
The Director-General’s statement can be accessed through the following links :
https://youtu.be/CU00FdVcrrI
or
https://we.tl/t-ashEl0fHdF
On the sidelines of this Conference, ALECSO organized, jointly with the UNESCO Institute for Information Technologies in Education (UNESCO IITE), the Smart Learning Institute (SLI) of Beijing Normal University, and the Beijing Institute of Education, the Forum on Open Education Practice and Teacher Capacity-Building, which was chaired by Dr. Mohamed Jemni, Director of ICT Department at ALECSO.
