On 5 September UNESCO, in cooperation with Japanese-Funds-In-Trust (JFIT), will inaugurate a 6-day ICT in Education Training Workshop in Chiang Mai, Thailand. The workshop will introduce a newly-developed policy-makers’ toolkit, which is designed to assist in improving decision-making with regard to the integration of ICT in education.

In earlier UNESCO workshops, high-level decision-makers, recognizing the need for a systematic approach to integrating ICT in education, recommended that UNESCO develop a toolkit to guide policymakers through the planning process and provide policy options. The idea was to have a locally-relevant toolkit for Ministries of Education, international organizations and researchers which will enable improved decision-making about ICT integration, and ultimately assist in extending the reach and improve the quality of education in cost-effective ways.

After a year and a half of preparations, and following consultations with over 150 experts, the toolkit is ready to be launched at the Chiang Mai “ICT in Education Toolkit Training Workshop”. At the workshop this innovative mechanism will be introduced to Ministry of Education staff from three countries in the Asia-Pacific region (Pakistan, Philippines and Thailand) that are about to, or have begun, the process of updating their education plans and would like to integrate ICT in Education policies into those plans.

As a result of their training, the workshop participants are expected to be in a better position to propose options (using the toolkit) to the Minister of Education, thereby facilitating appropriate decision-making regarding the integration of ICT in education policies, plans and programmes.