Under His Majesty's patronage, the Unesco-King Hamad Award for the use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) in education, were presented at a glittering ceremony at the world body's headquarters in Paris yesterday. The King deputised Education Minister Dr Majid Al Nuaimi to attend the celebration. Unesco Director-General Koichiro Matsuura praised the Royal initiative and hailed Bahrain's efforts to upgrade education in line with the Millennium's Goals.
He also praised Bahrain's co-operation with Unesco to achieve common objectives. Senior Unesco officials, Bahraini Ambassador to France Nasser Al Balushi, representatives from member countries, among others, were present. He praised His Majesty's continuous follow-up and support to education and thanked the international jury for the efforts in selecting the winners. The Shanghai TV University won the first place for building a digital lifelong learning system in Shanghai. Dr Hoda Baraka, of the Egyptian Communications and IT Ministry, received the award for her leadership in the implementation of several educational projects. Honourable mentions were given to the Schools Online Curriculum Services of Western Australia's department of education and training and the 'one laptop per child programme' of the Education Ministry of Peru. The event featured a documentary on Bahrain and its achievements, especially in education and switchover to e-education through His Majesty's Future Schools Project, and an exhibition on the kingdom.
