I just received the info below on Bibliotheca Alexandrina and its new African Networks and I thought it makes sense to share it on mathemafrica. I really like the idea of historical places connecting to new technologies. Here is a link to a film (in French) about the historical library at Alexandria:

Greetings from the Bibliotheca Alexandrina (BA) in Egypt. We are pleased to announce the launch of “BA African Networks”. Below you will find a description of the networks. You are most welcome to explore our portal and our five networks through the following link. http://afn.bibalex.org/GeneralPortal.aspx

The Bibliotheca Alexandrina (BA) follows in the footsteps of the Ancient Library of Alexandria as a meeting point for cultures and civilizations. It aims to rise to the digital challenge in order to develop African innovation through the use of science and technology in networks that extend throughout Africa. The new goal set by the BA is to connect those with common interests and expertise to hasten the development of knowledge and enable immediate sharing of knowledge and contributions.

With the significant national and international recognition that the BA has obtained in the past decade and a half, more developments and contributions have been made. One significant example is how the BA has increased its efforts in the development of the Research Methods Library and the Science Supercourse—which contain over 170,000 PowerPoint lectures online that raise the bar for distant learning. These projects did not only make the research material and knowledge and academic resources available for everyone, they also provided them for free.

It is the role of the Bibliotheca Alexandrina, and its duty, to act as “the international hub” to several significant academic and research networks that aim to connect the rising and the future generations of teachers and researchers in Africa. It is also well-positioned to launch a number of these networks in several fields.