Libraries, EdTech, and maximising learning opportunities for all

IFLA was represented at the Mastercard Foundation EdTech Conference 2024, engaging with key partners in the EdTech ecosystem to make the case for libraries to be integrated into broader EdTech plans in Africa. We are grateful to Damilare Oyedele for this report.

The Mastercard Foundation EdTech Conference 2024 in Abuja, Nigeria, from 8th to 10th July, brought together industry leaders, partners, and key stakeholders in shaping the future of educational technology in Africa, examining the current state of EdTech in Africa and its impact on learning challenges. The conference in Abuja ended with 10 recommendations for delivering the future of learning in Africa. 

The International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA), through its global and regional advocacy priority efforts, was represented by Damilare Oyedele, the Co-Founder and Chief Executive of Library Aid Africa, who also serves as a member of the IFLA Sub-Saharan African Regional Division Committee. He used the opportunity provided by the conference to connect with partners in the ecosystem to chart collaborative approaches and build strategies to prioritize libraries’ EdTech infrastructure, services, and development.

The 10 recommendations from the Mastercard Foundation EdTech conference for delivering the future of learning in Africa further align with the roles libraries can play in supporting Educational technology development, adoption, and deployment in African countries. 

What does the library ecosystem seek to offer?

The ten recommendations from the Mastercard Foundation EdTech Conference indicate a strong intersection between the roles of libraries in providing access to educational resources both in print and electronic format and as community hubs for innovation co-creation and community engagement. In this role, libraries empower people of all ages, young people, including out of school youth with the life skills, tech skills, and vibrant community to empower themselves, and access opportunities to transform their lives. 

This not only positions libraries as strategic partners in giving access to EdTech solutions in African communities, but also as a platform, irrespective of library types, to continuously evolve to meet the learning needs of the communities they serve, leveraging existing library infrastructures, staff, and resources. 

Libraries are open to support and foster EdTech in Africa

Leveraging libraries’ existing infrastructure, staff, resources, and reach to the communities they serve, EdTech solutions providers, government agencies, development partners, and others can harness libraries’ potential and existing platforms to deliver the future of learning in Africa. In this way, they can directly reach users in the communities these libraries serve. More importantly, leveraging library spaces can help turn them into hubs for the digital transformation of the communities and as a source of educational development and empowerment for young people, including out-of-school youth.

These are a few strategic roles libraries can play in transforming, amplifying, and delivering the future of learning in Africa, and libraries are open to continuously engaging stakeholders in the EdTech ecosystem to realize the potential of libraries to improve the current state of EdTech in Africa and its impact on learning challenges.

Learn more about the Mastercard Foundation EdTech Conference 10 recommendations for delivering the future of learning in Africa here.