Mauritius: The Regional Director of the Agence Universitaire de la Francophonie (AUF), Professor Aïssatou Sy-Wonyu, paid a courtesy call today, on the Vice-Prime Minister (VPM), Minister of Education, Tertiary Education, Science and Technology, Leela Devi Dookun-Luchoomun, at the seat of the Ministry in Phoenix.
In a statement, Professor Sy-Wonyu underlined that the meeting with the VPM was fruitful and cordial. Mauritius, she stated, has a long history of cooperation for over 30 years with the AUF since its creation in 1961 in Montréal. She indicated that discussions focused on the possibility of expanding the office of AUF in Mauritius.
The aim of the meeting, she highlighted, was to take stock of the progress as regards the collaboration between the two parties in the field of tertiary education. She recalled that Mauritius is a key partner of the AUF, adding that the country has shown a keen interest in participating in a Conference organized by the AUF in Quebec, Canada, in October 2023.
Ministers from various Francophone countries will have the opportunity to meet and discuss tertiary education and reflect on future avenues of cooperation, she remarked.
Furthermore, Professor Sy-Wonyu commended Government’s efforts in transforming Mauritius into an education hub to welcome more international students from African countries. She informed me that students from African countries currently benefit from 50 scholarships and that the AUF will continue to assist the country in attracting more students.
The Vice Prime Minister and Minister of Education, Tertiary Education, Science and Technology, Leela Devi Dookun-Luchoomun, GCSK, is currently attending the 2023 Edition of the Global Smart Education Conference being held from the 18th to 20th August 2023 at the Beijing Normal University in China.
To collectively address global learning crises and educational challenges and to further unlock the immense possibilities of integrating technology and education, Beijing Normal University (BNU), in collaboration with the UNESCO Institute for Information Technologies in Education (UNESCO-IITE), the Arab League Educational, Cultural, and Scientific Organization (ALECSO), the Commonwealth of Learning (COL), the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE), and the Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization (SEAMEO), have jointly initiated the “Global Smart Education Network (GSENet).”
The aim is to establish a partnership comprising researchers, practitioners, technology experts, and policymakers, to support the rethinking and redesign of education systems at the national, regional, and school levels.
This initiative seeks to formulate strategic solutions and approaches to reshape and innovate education and establish an equitable, inclusive, and high-quality smart education system that caters to individuals’ diverse and personalized needs in the future world.