Bramble Network
The 2025 International Day of Education Dialogue organized by Bramble Network was held on 24th January 2025 across five states in Nigeria. The event aimed to converge educational stakeholders such as NGOs, School owners and administrators, teachers, students, civil societies, and policymakers to discuss the importance of education and the recent impact Artificial Intelligence is making in the Education space. The dialogue brought together over 80 participants in Ibadan Oyo state, 40 participants in Ondo, and about 50 participants in Ekiti state, including keynote speaker and panelists, key stakeholders, and education actors, to discuss and address the theme for the day: Artificial Intelligence and Education; Preserving Human Agency in a World of Automation.
Event Overview
The event commenced with opening remarks by Odunayo Aliu, The Founder and Director of Bramble Network. She welcomed the participants and outlined the objectives of the dialogue.
Keynote Address:
Dr. I.A. Olasunkanmi, the faculty officer of the Faculty of Education, Department of Science and Technology, University of Ibadan delivered a keynote address on Balancing AI Advancement with Human Agency in Education, highlighting the need for AI to enhance and not replace, he also emphasized the need for teachers and education actors to be creative in the classroom in an AI-driven world. He mentioned the 4 Cs in education in this 21st century and their importance in fostering quality education and balance even as Artificial Intelligence advances. These 4 C’s include Creativity, Critical Thinking, Communication, and Collaboration.
Panel Discussions:
The event featured several thought leaders in education during the panel discussion on topics related to the day’s theme. The seasoned panelists include Dr. Ben Odiase, the E-tutor Supervisor at the Distance Learning Center, University of Ibadan, Mr. Raphael Stephen, the founder of FAME Foundation, Mr. Okunade Opeyemi, the Lead Administrator and Technology instructor at Bramble Learning Space, Mrs. Bukola Adeleke, the founder of WeTeach Innovation Hub, and Mrs. Ewaoluwa Orowale, the Executive Director of Mayein. This session was moderated by Oluwanifemi Ayodele, who dived into the questions to which the panelists provided answers.
The highlight of the panel discussion was that Artificial Intelligence has come to stay and to ensure that learning remains creative and fun in the classroom and to maintain the human connection in schools, teachers need to develop themselves in what we call SEL; social-emotional learning, school owners should invest in training their teachers and help them improve their creativity. When asked if an individual can provide the resources needed to enhance education in Nigeria, one of the panelists, Mrs. Bukola, emphasized that even though an individual can not do it alone without the help of the government, there is still a need for each person to take responsibility. Mrs. Ewaoluwa mentioned that schools should also be receptive to these advancements by providing teachers with the skills and expertise needed to effectively use the available resources.
It was an engaging session that sparked more discussions and interaction among the audience.
One of the participants asked the following question; “If we keep training educators to embrace technology advancement, why are we not talking about the fact that a time may come when students may not find school interesting anymore because all they need for learning can now be gotten on their phones, computer and tablets” This question drove us back to the answer provided by one of the panelists that if a teacher makes class fun and teaching engaging, students will look forward to going to school each day because they want to meet and engage.
Workshop Session
The event progressed as Mr. Gideon Oladunjoye trained the educators present on some Edtech tools that can enhance Teaching and Learning in Low-cost Schools. He mentioned that there are different types of tools, such as Hardware tools and software tools. He mentioned some platforms such as Google Classroom, Khan Academy, etc.
The summary of the event from the other states shows even more the success of the event.
One of the panelists from Ondo state, Oluwole Caleb, a cybersecurity analyst, emphasized that AI has come to stay and that it will define the future. People need to stop seeing AI as a threat and see it as a leverage to make work life better.
Isaac Olakunle, one of the panelists, further affirmed that the future of Education and educators is not in delivering the ‘boring’ tasks that can be delegated to AI but that the learning process is delivered in love and empathy to bring learners to a place of discussion and solving problems.
Key Outcomes
The dialogue event successfully achieved its objectives by concluding that a creative teacher who understands critical thinking and knows how to make teaching fun can not be replaced with any technological advancement. Key outcomes of the event included:
- There is a need for collaboration between civil societies to ensure resources are made available in schools
- School owners should train their staff as technology advances so that they can impact the students positively.
- There is a need for creativity to emerge in our classrooms.
- Students should be trained to make effective use of Artificial Intelligence and not to use it to replace their thinking capacity.
Participant Feedback
Feedback from participants was overwhelmingly positive, with many appreciating the opportunity to engage in meaningful discussions and network with like-minded individuals. Some of the feedback included:
- Mrs Kemisola, a school owner who has once been skeptical about how to leverage AI in her school, now gets clarity on the way to use AI tools to enhance her classroom engagement.
- Adetutu, one of the participants in Ondo, stated that she now understands how to leverage Artificial intelligence to take care of her scoring grading process and maximize AI to structure her lesson plan engagingly.
Conclusion
The International Day of Education Dialogue was a resounding success, providing a platform for stakeholders to discuss critical issues and collaborate on solutions. The event presented the importance of Balancing Artificial Intelligence and Education, considering the ethical issues, and embracing the benefits of education. As the event came to a close, participants and education stakeholders asked for the need for continued dialogue and action.
Acknowledgments
The International Day of Education was a huge success across the 5 states with the help of passionate and dedicated state hosts such as Adetomiwa Odunlade, Ondo state host, and Janet Isesele, the founder of Build a Child Initiative who hosted the event in Ado-Ekiti, Ekiti state for their support and converging the stakeholders in their states and to all the participants for their active engagement. Special thanks to the organizing committee at Bramble Network, who contributed to the success of the event. to shape a future where AI supports education without compromising the essence of human learning.
For more updates on Bramble Network’s initiatives, visit www.bramblenetwork.org or follow us on social media @bramblenetwork.
