Press room
On 27 May, the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (Open University of Catalonia, UOC) President, Imma Tubella, and the African Virtual University (AVU) Rector, Bakary Diallo, signed a framework collaboration agreement in Dakar. The object of this agreement is the production of educational materials, and the promotion and development of a virtual campus to disseminate virtual programmes, via AVU partner institutions, focusing on peaceful conflict resolution and the eradication of poverty.
The collaboration includes the creation of an e-campus for Development and Peace for Africa,
university management training, entrepreneurship programmes, micro-credit management training, a
post-conflict recovery programme, digital skills programmes, collaboration with the UOC Virtual
Library, African language programmes and the exchange of teaching materials.
African Virtual University
The African Virtual University (AVU) was created as a World Bank project in 1997 and
registered as a non-governmental organisation under the Non-Governmental Organisations
Co-ordination Act 1990 under the laws of Kenya on 11 May 2002. Also in 2002, sovereign states and
other members of the AVU signed a charter establishing the AVU as an inter-governmental
organisation and revoked its registration as a non-governmental organisation. The AVU has its
headquarters in Nairobi, Kenya, and a regional office in Dakar, Senegal.
Over its 12 years of existence, the AVU has acquired the largest network of Open Distance and
e-Learning (ODeL) institutions in Africa. Its greatest asset is its ability to work across borders
and language groups in English, French and Portuguese-speaking Africa in the development of ODeL
materials and methodologies.
The AVU’s mission is to facilitate the use of effective Open Distance and e-Learning
Methodologies in African Tertiary Education Institutions. The AVU envisions an African continent
where Open, Distance and e-Learning (ODeL) plays an increasingly significant role, especially in
the university sector, enabling participation rates to be substantially increased while
safeguarding quality.
The main areas of focus of the AVU’s interventions are: (i) developing and
disseminating open distance and e-learning academic contents on the African continent; (ii)
building capacity in African tertiary education institutions through setting-up of ODeL Centres and
training personnel to use ODeL methodologies; (iii) managing the delivery of ODeL degree, diploma
and certificate programmes in Africa; (iv) building and managing large consortia of African
educational institutions working on ODeL initiatives; and (v) strengthening capacity in ODeL
through seminars, workshops and consultancies.
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