Official launch in Tunis of the theme of the 2011 ADEA Triennale on Education and Training in Africa, one year before the event

Tunis, 29 November 2010. On 3 December in Tunis, ADEA will officially announce the theme of its next Triennale on Education and Training in Africa. The announcement will be made at an official launch ceremony to be opened by the Tunisian Minister of Education, Mr. Hatem Ben Salem, in the presence of the members of ADEA, gathered in Tunis for the 33rd session of the ADEA Steering Committee.

One year before the Triennale, which will be held in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, the launch is intended to mobilize the members and partners of ADEA, as well as all parties concerned by education and training in Africa, to address the theme of education and training for sustainable development.

In addition to the opening address by the Tunisian Minister of Education, the following dignitaries will deliver a speech at the ceremony:

  • Mr. John Kufuor, former president of Ghana;
  • Mr. Sam Ongeri, Minister of Education, Science and Technology of Kenya and Chair of the Forum of Africa Ministers of Education;
  • Ms. Odile Bonkoungou, Minister of Basic Education and Literacy of Burkina Faso;
  • Mr. Mamadou Ndoye, principal coordinator of the 2011 Triennale and former Minister of education of Senegal;
  • Mr. Dzingai Mutumbuka and Mr. Ahlin Byll-Cataria, respectively Chair and Executive Secretary of ADEA.

Mr. Kamal Elkheshen, Vice-President of the African Development Bank (AfDB), will declare the Triennale to be launched, on behalf of the President of the AfDB, Mr. Donald Kaberuka.

The members of ADEA will attend the ceremony, including the 11 ministers of education representing the five regions of Africa, and representatives of some 20 cooperation and development agencies. Senior representatives of the AfDB, the private sector, social and professional organizations and the African media are also expected to attend.

The Triennale (hitherto Biennale) on Education and Training in Africa, organized by ADEA, is the most important event worldwide on education in Africa, in terms of participation – more than 600 people participated in the last Biennale in Maputo, including some 60 African ministers – and of the content of the discussions, which are

founded on extensive research and consultation among stakeholders in education and training.

The preceding Biennales organized by ADEA were held in France, Senegal, South Africa, Tanzania, Mauritius, Gabon and Mozambique.
They explored the following themes:

  • Improving the Implementation of Education Projects in Africa through Ownership (1993, Angers, France)
  • Formulating Educational Policy in Sub-Saharan Africa (1995, Tours, France)
  • Partnerships for Capacity Building and Quality Improvements in Education (1997, Dakar, Senegal)
  • What Works and What’s New in Education: Africa Speaks! (1999, Johannesburg, South Africa)
  • Reaching Out, Reaching All: Sustaining Effective Policy and Practice for Education in Africa (2001, Arusha, Tanzania)
  • The Quest for Quality: Learning from the African Experience (2003, Grand Baie, Mauritius)
  • More and Better Education: What Makes Effective Learning in Schools and in Literacy and Early Childhood Development Programs? (2006, Libreville, Gabon)
  • Beyond Primary Education: Challenges of and Approaches to Expanding Learning Opportunities in Africa (2008, Maputo, Mozambique)

The 2011 Triennale, on education and training for sustainable development, will pursue the policy dialogue initiated in the preceding Biennales, particularly the 2008 Maputo Biennale, which focused on pot-primary education.

Press contacts:

  • Thanh-Hoa Desruelles, External Relations and Communication, ADEA,t.desruelles@afdb.org, Tel. in Tunis (Tunisia): +216/ 21 9 11 46
  • Aliou Goloko, Press consultant, +216/ 25 55 69 85, e-mail: golokosn@yahoo.fr
Tunis, November 29, 2010