UNESCO-King Hamad ICT award ceremony held

Paris, Mar. 7 (BNA): His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa delegated Deputy Prime Minister Jawad bin Salem Al Arrayedh to attend the award ceremony of the ninth UNESCO-King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa Prize for the Use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) in Education. The UNESCO and Ministry of Education jointly staged the event on the UNESCO premises in Paris, in the presence of Education Minister Dr. Majid bin Ali Al Nuaimi; UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay; UNESCO senior officials; diplomats; journalists; researchers; ICT specialists and Bahraini students studying at French universities. The UNESCO Director-General, in her speech, praised the royal initiative to launch this important prize that meets the UNSCO’s goals to disseminate education for all, welcoming the Education Ministry’s cooperation in various fields. The Education Minister, in his speech, conveyed greetings and congratulations of HM the King to the prize winners. He pointed out Bahrain’s successes in the field of e-learning. He highlighted the significance of the prize and its role in transferring educational experiences across the world. The Deputy Premier, UNSCO Director General and Education Minister honoured the winning initiatives, including the National Programme for the Dissemination of ICT for Education, a long-term national programme launch by the kingdom of Morocco in 2005. It was implemented by the Ministry of National Education and Vocational Training; Ministry of Higher Education, Scientific Research and Professional Training, which has contributed to increase the rate of education to 95%. The Distance Learning Initiative, an initiative set out by India’s Tata Institute of Social Sciences that aims to providing ICT services to enhance opportunities for students in poor communities to access secondary and higher education in India. The Deputy Premier commended the prize that has earned a global recognition, saying it is a humanitarian initiative to award projects serve education through the employment of technology. He also lauded the Education Ministry and UNSCO’s organizational effort to hold the associated exhibition that reflected the development seen by the educational sector under the royal leadership.