Hub tenant hosts WK Kellogg Foundation Vice President

Hub tenant, the Naledi3d Factory, hosted the Vice President of the WK Kellogg Foundation, Dr Gail McClure, at The Innovation Hub in Pretoria at the end of July this year. Dr McClure, based in Battle Creek, Michigan was on a two-week tour of South Africa looking at a number of projects that the Foundation is currently supporting.

Dr Gail McClure (middle front), Vice President of the W K Kellogg Foundation, surrounded on both sides by representatives from The Innovation Hub and the Naledi3D Factory.

The W K Kellogg Foundation is a major donor in Africa with a stated mission of "helping people to help themselves through the practical application of knowledge and resources to improve their quality of life and that of future generations".

The purpose of the visit was to introduce Dr McClure to two new projects that the Foundation is supporting this year and to activities at The Innovation Hub.

The first project under the spotlight was a joint venture between the Naledi3d Factory and World Links in Zimbabwe, who have joined forces in a unique agricultural and life skills training initiative.

Based on interactive simulations and a newly developed "Interactive3d Learning Objects" concept, the project focuses on the creation of a number of cutting-edge agricultural training simulations that will form the first phase of a Rural Life Skills Programme that will enhance the upliftment of rural communities.

The technology is set to revolutionise agricultural training in Africa and create a new benchmark for computer-based learning.

The second supported project, driven by the CSIR's Meraka Institute, provides specialist software systems (inTouch Africa®) at their "Zoom Sites" in the region. The operators ("infopreneurs") in these communities will be supported from a regional centre with the support and project services required for local data, information and knowledge creation and sharing. Sustaining the "infopreneurs" in the network will decrease the dependency on external (donor) funding and provide long-term impact in (remote) communities.

During the visit, Dr McClure met three of the Hub tenants who are involved in community development projects. These included Expertron, who developed the "Cell-Power" concept that enables vendors to use a cell phone to vend prepaid electricity and airtime to consumers without bank accounts or credit cards; Cities Hub Africa, who has been involved in a urban and rural housing and ICT development programmes in Africa; and the CoachLab™ - a leadership programme that fast tracks the development of skills graduates for the local ICT sector by preparing participants to enter the market place as active, industry-ready knowledge workers.

Responding to a discussion on PC literacy during the presentation by the Naledi3d Factory, Dr McClure remarked that she had learnt the right sequence of building a PC from her four-year old granddaughter, who was recently taught to assemble a PC as part of her pre-school syllabus. This certainly is a wake-up call for those in Africa involved in the development of ICT skills!

For more information on the W K Kellog Foundation visit them at www.wkkf.org or on the Interactive Learning Tool developed by the Naledi3d Factory, contact Dave Lockwood at (012) 844 1010.

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