Assessing leadership capacity needs for building a knowledge society in Africa
09 September 2011
GESCI, Founded by the UN ICT Task Force, in partnership with the African Union have released four country reports and a synthesis document that assess the environmental, institutional and individual leadership capacity needs for the transition towards a knowledge society in Africa. The study was carried out in Zambia, Tanzania, Mauritius and South Africa as part of the Africa Leadership in ICT (ALICT) programme.
The ALICT programme aims to build the absorptive capacity of current and potential future African leaders to acquire, assimilate, transform and exploit the benefits of knowledge through knowledge sharing and exposure to technology.
In all of the four countries surveyed there are clear policy frameworks for managing the transition to a knowledge-based economy, by strengthening the links between education, ICT, Science Technology and Innovation. While education systems are slowly being transformed, however, there are continuing concerns regarding school infrastructure, teacher availability, skills training and employability. The reports underline the critical role of a new kind of leadership, which not only requires new mindsets, but new skills and capacities to drive the needed political, economical and social changes.
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