JEDDAH – Universities, schools and corporations in the Middle East and Africa (MEA) are bracing for a surge in demand for technology that facilitates education, according to a Singapore-based technology expert. In the Middle East, integration of ICT in education is rising, especially as more people advance to higher levels of education, according to UNESCO. In Africa, many organizations are pioneering new ways of using ICT to meet the United Nations' education-related Millennium Development Goals, according to the World Bank. Online education is a major driver of take-up of ICT technology in the region. In the Middle East, millions of people increasingly have Internet access, demonstrating the potential for expanding online educational resources, according to the Middle East e-Learning Association (MEeA). In Sub-Saharan Africa, more than 300,000 teacher-learners in 10 countries have used multilingual open educational resources, offered by the TESSA research and development initiative, which could be adapted to the Middle East, MEeA added. As educational institutions and enterprises seek to meet the needs of students and employees, they can discover the latest technologies for teaching and education at InfoComm Middle East & Africa 2013 to be held on Oct. 20-24, 2013 at the Dubai World Trade Centre, co-located at GITEX Technology Week 2013, one of the world's largest Information and Communications Technology industry events. The event is jointly organized by InfoCommAsia Pte Ltd, a subsidiary of InfoComm International, and the Dubai World Trade Centre. InfoComm International is the international trade association of the professional audiovisual and information communications industries. David Lim, Project Director, InfoComm MEA, said: “Countries in the Middle East and Africa are committed to integrating ICT in education, as technological literacy of educators, students, and employees is increasingly important in this globally-connected age. At InfoComm MEA 2013, the region's educational institutions and enterprises can find cutting-edge scalable and affordable audiovisual technology to make their courses easy-to-create, engaging, and accessible to a wide range of consumers.” InfoComm MEA is expecting its largest-ever attendance, primarily of technology managers and business owners from a cross-section of fields. Attendees can learn about the latest trends in the educational sector through engaging panel discussions; test innovative products and services at exhibitor booths including interactive whiteboards, state-of-the-art projects and visualisers; and network with representatives from the world's most influential companies. Once again, InfoComm MEA is attracting the industry's leading audiovisual companies, such as Wolfvision, the leading manufacturer of high-end visualisers and document cameras. Hazem Mahdy, Middle East - Sales Manager, WolfVision Middle East, said: “Educational institutions and companies are heavily investing in new and engaging learning methods, especially for distance learners. Attending InfoComm MEA will help us reach rapidly-growing markets in the Middle East and Africa. We're eager to demonstrate how our latest visualizers – which enable lecturers to spontaneously present, digitize and magnify documents and objects to their audience – can help educators and influencers retain the attention of viewers.” – SG
