The document summarizes the origins and goals of an OER Francophone Africa working group established by ICDE and the French Ministry of Higher Education. The working group includes universities from Francophone countries in Africa and aims to promote OER adoption and support policies. Key activities include translating an open online course on copyright and licensing into French, cultural validation of materials, identifying capacity needs, and replicating the initiative in other Francophone regions. The project aims to support areas 1 and 2 of the UNESCO OER Recommendation through capacity building and development of supportive policies.

2. OER Francophone
Africa working
group and project
Presentation and ideas to replicate
Jacques Dang (French Digital University)
Anaïs Røed Malbrand (ICDE)

3. Origins of the working group and initiative
ICDE member French Ministry for
Higher Education, Research and
Innovation (MESRI) and ICDE
agree on the opportunity of
tapping into the ICDE global,
expert network to support their
West African and French partners
stakeholders by establishing a
Francophone working group
December 2018: Open
Education Leadership
Summit. Paris
November 2019:
Adoption of the UNESCO
OER Recommendation
March 2020: First face to
face meeting of the
working group in Paris

4. Expert group in short:
Current Members
• French Digital University (L’Université
Numérique – UNIT, AUNEGe and
UOH)
• French Ministry of Higher Education,
Research and Innovation
• Virtual Universities of Senegal, Mali
and Republic of Congo
• French National Commission for
UNESCO
• UNESCO
• ICDE
Potential Future Partners
• Virtual Universities of Bénin, Burkina
Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Niger and
Central African Republic
• International Organisation of La
Francophonie
• Ministries of Bénin, Burkina Faso,
Côte d’Ivoire, Niger and Central
African Republic, Senegal, Mali and
Republic of Congo
• Business partners

5. Key components of the project
• Synergies with
parallel initiatives
in the region at
ICDE and
UNESCO
• French
• Language and
cultural validation
of capacity
building material
• Academic/policy
level
• Multisectoral
nature of the
expert group
• Needs
identification
• Course/capacity
building material
• Roadmap
Capacity
building
Multisectoral
dialogue
Catalyzing
nature
Cultural
approach
and
replicability
UNESCO OER
Recommendation
OER capacity building (Area 1) &
Supportive policies (Area 2)

6. Free online capacity development course:
OER, Copyright and Open Licensing (LiDA103).
• Provides free access to an online test, whereby successful learners have the
opportunity to gain the Certificate of Competency in Copyright and Creative
Commons Licensing.
• Developed by OER universitas (OERu) in English:
https://course.oeru.org/lida103/
• Translation and adaptation to French coordinated by ICDE/OERu/UNESCO:
translated by UNESCO, technical review and validation by French Digital
University. Cultural validation within the Francophone OER group.
• Capacity Building tool for the project
• Documented process, replicable in other languages

7. Replicability
• Other Francophone countries (report on pilot nature of initiative will be
documented with recommendations for replication)
• Other linguistic areas (English, Portuguese, Spanish…)

8. How to engage
• Sharing the calls for action and results with your
networks: https://www.icde.org/icde-news/call-for-
expert-francophone-africa-project
• Using, re-using and adapting the created capacity
building material
• Replicating in other linguistic regions of Europe/the
globe

9. Thank you!
Join our community! – icde@icde.org