Accra, March 10, GNA - Dr Adrienne Yande Diop, ECOWAS Commissioner for Human

Development and Gender has noted that Information Communication and Technology

(ICT) provide access to education for people under difficult circumstances. She said the use of ICT contributed immensely to the far reaching endeavours in

education, medicine, tourism, travel business, banking, engineering and architecture for

the past three decades. Dr Diop was speaking at the opening of a four-day meeting of a Joint Committee on

Education, Science, Technology, Youth, Sports and Culture and ICT. It is aimed at ensuring concrete participation of Parliaments in the sub-region to

advance the integration process. It was on the theme: "Introduction of New Information and Communication

Technologies in the System of Education; Challenges and Perspectives." Dr Diop said the second conference of ECOWAS Ministers of Education in 2004 adopted

e-learning as a priority adding: "In order to actualise this dream the President of the

Commission in 2006 inaugurated the ECOWAS e-learning Task Force." She noted that after a series of consultation within the commission and with the

technical and financial partners, the task force recommended among others things the

development of definite programme that will impact on the lives of ECOWAS citizens,

conduct of a survey of e-learning in member states and the development of a regional e-

learning policy, Resource mobilisation for the e-learning initiative and designation of a hub for the

regional e-learning programme was also recommended. Dr Diop said five closely related programmes have been developed by the ECOWAS

Commission, in collaboration with the Commonwealth of Learning, UNESCO, African

Development Bank, Computer Companies and consultants. She said the community computer centre in Lome-Togo had been designated as a

prospective hub for the initiative. Dr Diop said in order to assess the e-readiness of member states for the programmes, a

survey of e-learning was conducted in February and March 2009 and a comprehensive list

of e-learning institutions and personnel have been obtained along with other information that could be leveraged for the initiative. She called on member states to imbibe and promote ICT because it holds the future for fuctional and targeted education. Mr Ousmane Mahamane, Speaker of ECOWAS Parliament and former President of Niger opened the meeting.