Ivory Coast, host of eLearning Africa 2019, has the fourth-largest Francophone population on the continent. On the whole, Africa makes up more than 70% of the world’s total French-speaking population, and France’s commitment to Africa is profound. Many representatives of prominent French educational institutions will take part in Abidjan.

Within the OECD, France is the fourth-largest donor country to education and has recently developed a new strategy for external action on education, vocational training and integration. Entitled L’ Action Exterieure de la France pour l’Education, la Formation Professionnelle et l’Insertion dans les Pays en Developpement - 2017-2021, Africa is a principal partner in the efforts Highlights of eLA 2019 include a session focused on "Business Skills, Soft Skills, Competency Frameworks and their Tools to Support Learners' Employability". This is one of several scheduled discussions directly related to the overall conference theme.

Africa has no shortage of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The challenge is how to boost their potential to add value and employ more young people. Another eLA session, Entrepreneurship and SMEs, will explore initiatives in Africa that provide entrepreneurs with the crucial knowledge and skills they needed to grow their businesses and make them sustainable.

There is clearly no one-size-fits-all approach to addressing Africa’s many challenges and opportunities. In this context, Francophone experts are set to lead a very practical session on “Design Thinking for Problem Solving in Africa”. This process offers an innovative approach to dealing with complex problems that encourages out-of-the-box thinking toward finding revolutionary solutions. The aim is for all participants to leave the room with practical skills that can be used almost immediately in their own environments.

With enhanced partnerships essential to success, attention is also dedicated to discussing Francophone-world perspectives on collaboration. This includes sessions on Transnational Cooperation in Higher Education and Training: success factors and development perspectives offered by the pedagogical and digital revolutions; Exploring North-South Digital Collaboration Experiences; and Using open educational resources, platforms and tools developed by French Digital Thematic Universities.

Young Africans need to be well prepared for the digital disruptions that are transforming - and will continue to revolutionise - the future of work in their countries. A workshop on Blockchain at the Service of Education presented by experts from the French-speaking world will provide an updated overview of this powerful technology. Its potential impacts on academic spheres and human resources (diploma issuance and skills-based certifications for long-life access), as well as education science (off-centring education with open badges) in Europe and the entire world need to be understood.

The following French institutions will be present at eLearning Africa 2019:

• Ministère de l’Economie numérique et de la Prospective
• CNED
• HEC
• UNIT (Université Numérique en sciences de l'ingénieur et en technologie)
• AUNEGe (Université Numérique Economie Gestion)
• UOH (L'Université Numérique des Humanités)
• e-Charlemagne / Chaucot-Dubost
• FIED (Fédération inter universitaire de l'enseignement à distance)
• Université Paris 8
• Université de Lorraine
• Université de Strasbourg
• Université de Lille
• Université d’Artois
• Ecole Nationale des Sciences Géographiques
• FERDI (Fondation pour les études et recherches en développement international)
• CIEP – France Education International
• ETS Global, France
• OpenINSA
• INSA Toulouse