{"id":14949,"date":"2026-05-20T21:38:07","date_gmt":"2026-05-20T21:38:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.slhc-uk.org\/?p=14949"},"modified":"2026-05-20T21:38:08","modified_gmt":"2026-05-20T21:38:08","slug":"minister-conrad-sackey-and-deputy-high-commissioner-yvonne-king-odigboh-participate-in-google-london-briefing-as-sierra-leone-advances-ai-driven-education-reform","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.slhc-uk.org\/?p=14949","title":{"rendered":"Minister Conrad Sackey and Deputy High Commissioner Yvonne King Odigboh Participate in Google London Briefing as Sierra Leone Advances AI-Driven Education Reform"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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London; Wednesday 20th May, 2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Deputy High Commissioner of Sierra Leone to the United Kingdom, Mrs. Yvonne King Odigboh, today joined Sierra Leone\u2019s Minister of Basic and Senior Secondary Education, Mr. Conrad O. Sackey, at a high-level breakfast briefing on Artificial Intelligence (AI) in education held at the Google London Office.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Convened under the Global Alliance for AI in Education (GAILA) and the Quality Assurance Facility for AI in Education, the event brought together global education leaders, development partners, researchers, and technology innovators to examine how governments can responsibly integrate AI into education systems to improve learning outcomes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Also attending the session were Mr. Lans Kelfala, Chairman of the Sierra Leone Teaching Service Commission (TSC), and Madam Josephine Saidu, Chief Executive Officer of  www.teachforsierraleone.org , an educational partner organisation supporting teacher recruitment, teacher training, and collaboration with government efforts to integrate AI into education delivery in Sierra Leone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A major highlight of the briefing was the introduction of a groundbreaking collaborative study involving the Government of Sierra Leone, Google DeepMind, and Fab AI, focused on the use of AI to improve mathematics learning outcomes in Sierra Leonean schools. The initiative forms part of a broader global effort to ensure that emerging AI technologies are evidence-based, contextually relevant, and accessible to learners in developing countries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Delivering remarks on behalf of the Government of Sierra Leone, Minister Conrad O. Sackey reaffirmed His Excellency President Julius Maada Bio\u2019s passionate commitment to education as the foundation of national development. Reflecting on Sierra Leone\u2019s journey through civil war, Ebola, and recovery, the Minister praised the resilience of the people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He maintained that Sierra Leone continues to place unwavering faith in the transformative power of education and the potential of its children.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Minister Sackey also drew attention to the growing continental learning crisis, noting that many children across Sub-Saharan Africa are unable to read and understand a simple text by the age of ten.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNot a novel. Not a newspaper. A simple text,\u201d the Minister emphasized, warning that millions remain trapped in what experts describe as \u201clearning poverty.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Against this backdrop, the Minister highlighted Sierra Leone\u2019s progress under the Free Quality School Education Programme, which has increased school enrolment from under 2 million to over 3.1 million pupils since 2018, while advancing gender equality and inclusive learning opportunities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, he stressed that access alone is not enough.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe must now ensure that children are not only in school, but learning effectively,\u201d he stated, underscoring the urgent need to strengthen foundational literacy and numeracy through innovation, research, and strategic partnerships.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Speaking on Sierra Leone\u2019s collaboration with Google DeepMind and Fab AI, Minister Sackey praised the partners\u2019 commitment to developing locally grounded AI solutions capable of addressing real classroom challenges. He emphasized that Sierra Leone welcomes responsible technological innovation backed by rigorous evidence and accountability.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe question is not whether AI will transform education \u2014 it will,\u201d the Minister stated. \u201cThe real question is who benefits first, and whether children in the Global South are included from the very beginning.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Minister further stressed the importance of ensuring that AI tools introduced into classrooms are safe, effective, culturally relevant, and responsive to African educational realities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The distinguished panel of co-presenters included Dr. Benjamin Piper of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Dr. Irina Jurenka, Director of Research at Google DeepMind, and Wongani Grace Nkhoma-Sankofa from UNICEF.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Mrs. Yvonne King Odigboh\u2019s participation further underscored the Sierra Leone High Commission\u2019s commitment to supporting international partnerships that advance education, innovation, and sustainable development for Sierra Leone\u2019s future generations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Held at Google\u2019s London headquarters, the briefing provided an important platform for dialogue on the transformative role of Artificial Intelligence in shaping the future of education across Africa and beyond.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Abdulai Braima<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Information Attach\u00e9<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

London; Wednesday 20th May, 2026 The Deputy High Commissioner of Sierra Leone to the United Kingdom, Mrs. Yvonne King Odigboh, today joined Sierra Leone\u2019s Minister of Basic and Senior Secondary Education, Mr. Conrad O. Sackey, at a high-level breakfast briefing on Artificial Intelligence (AI) in education held at the Google London Office. Convened under the…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-14949","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.slhc-uk.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14949","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.slhc-uk.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.slhc-uk.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.slhc-uk.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.slhc-uk.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=14949"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blog.slhc-uk.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14949\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14955,"href":"https:\/\/blog.slhc-uk.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14949\/revisions\/14955"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.slhc-uk.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=14949"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.slhc-uk.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=14949"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.slhc-uk.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=14949"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}