Innovation and New Technologies in North Africa in the Context of COVID-19

By Dada Ahmed

Rabat, November 3rd (ECA) – The ECA Office for North Africa, the UNESCO office for the Maghreb region and the Policy Center for the New South will hold on November 4th, 2020 from 3pm to 5 pm (UTC/GMT+1) a webinar on “Innovation and New Technologies in North Africa in the Context of COVID-19”.

COVID-19 has brought many changes across the world, disrupting North Africa’s connections to global value chains and impacting strategic sources of foreign currency. The pandemic has also triggered a deep reorganisation of national strategic priorities, accelerating digitization and generating a strong need for systemic change across the economic fabric.

This webinar will be an opportunity for a team of seasoned experts to examine how new technologies have been used to mitigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on public services and national economies across North Africa. They will discuss how the accelerated transformation of education services has become a necessity due to this crisis, and debate on the role new technologies can play to accelerate North Africa’s economic recovery and facilitate their adaptation to the new, global economic context.

Public institution, private sector and civil society representatives as well as academics from Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, Sudan and Tunisia will be taking part in this meeting. Discussions will be simultaneously translated into English, French and Arabic to facilitate a dynamic North-African debate on these important issues.

Key recommendations from this webinar will be submitted to the upcoming thirty-fifth Intergovernmental Committee of Senior Officials and Experts (ICSOE) scheduled on November 17th, 2020.

Source:ECA