Pauline Etienne
29 August 2006
Port Louis — The visit of Gail Learmont, regional director for Information Services, Southern Africa, to British Council Mauritius was the occasion for the institution to take stock of its achievements and see where there is still room for improvement. The expert in information services also seized the opportunity to unveil a number of projects that will be implemented within the next few months in Mauritius.
The opening of the Knowledge and Learning Centre (KLC) last February has been one of the major events of the British Council for the past few years. This centre is not only a place where members can access books, libraries and the Internet. As a one-stop shop, it also caters for those needing to register for courses, exams or in search of educational information. But the KLC can also be seen as a drop-in facility for those who simply want to relax over a cup of coffee while keeping in touch with the latest trends in the UK.
Thanks to this centre, the British Council has been able to attract more members and better meet their expectations. Among the 2,500 members of the KLC, Simon Ingram-Hill, the director for British Council Mauritius, revealed that 60% were under 18 while the 40% remaining were professionals and decision-makers. Even though the institution is really happy with the fact that young people show an interest in the British Council, he said the council had to "find ways of attracting even more professionals".
With this in mind, Gail Learmont announced the setting up of a Management Express (MEX) programme to meet the demands of young professionals. "We conducted a marketing search with young professionals in sub-Saharan African countries and realised they had a strong desire to learn. But we also realised that they had specific needs to network with professionals and colleagues in countries where issues were the same like Brazil or India."
Means to access material
This programme is becoming increasingly successful in Uganda and it is intended to have huge success elsewhere. As from October, young professionals in Mauritius will be given support in resources as well as the opportunity to talk with other colleagues in the region.
With such a project, the British Council wants to attain more people and meet the expectations of another type of clientele. The Pan-African leadership programme targets the same objective, which is to widen the British Council's reach with early to mid-career professionals.
But it does not intend to stop there... As the director revealed as soon as he took up his duties at the beginning of the year, the British Council will get out more to schools, centres and associations but also beyond all those institutions. People will no longer have to come to the British Council but will be given the means (especially electronic means) to access the material available.
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