Yaoundé, Cameroon 29-30 May 2025 — The Pan African University (PAU) welcomed a high-level delegation from UNESCO’s International Institute for Capacity Building in Africa (IICBA) to its Rectorate in Yaoundé, Cameroon, for a strategic working meeting aimed at advancing the joint project, “Empowering Female Teachers and School Leaders in Crisis Situations through Integrating Mobile-based Learning in the PAVeU Initiative.”

The visiting UNESCO IICBA team was led by Dr. Quentin Wodon, Director of IICBA, accompanied by Ms. Eyerusalem Azmeraw, Project Officer, and Mr. Saïd Ould Ahmedou Voffal, Programme Specialist based in Yaoundé. Representing the PAU were Vice Rector, Prof. Bolanle Akeredolu-Ale, Deputy Director of PAUGHSS, Prof. Marie Fame, and Senior Academic and Administrative Officer, Dr. Gilles Ogandaga Ndiaye.

The collaborative initiative - anchored within the Pan African Virtual and E-University (PAVeU) - seeks to empower female teachers and school leaders operating in crisis-affected areas. Through the integration of mobile-based learning, the project aims to provide quality, accessible, and flexible professional development opportunities. Target regions include the five PAU host countries (Kenya, Nigeria, Algeria, and Cameroon) as hubs, alongside South Sudan.

In partnership with Tec-Company, a leading Japanese EdTech firm, and supported by the Japanese Supplementary Budget for TICAD, the initiative aligns with Africa’s broader goals for inclusive, gender-responsive, and technology-enabled education.

As part of their mission in Cameroon, the UNESCO IICBA team also paid a courtesy visit to the Ministry of Higher Education. They were received by Prof. Wilfred Gabsa and his team, with the purpose of briefing the Ministry on the scope of the project and to seek formal approval to integrate Cameroon as a project country.

The visit reflects growing momentum for transformative education partnerships across Africa, and reinforces the strategic importance of digital learning in advancing the African Union’s Agenda 2063.