Bett 2024: Elevating Education with Esports & Celebrating African Perspectives

Bett, the educational technology (EdTech) event organiser, is set to host “Esports @ Bett” for the third consecutive year. The January 2024 conference at ExCeL London will feature various esports-focused activations and activities. Among the panel members participating in discussions on “Global Education: An Insight on Esports From Across the World” is Gabriel Atsu Sikanku, co-founder of Esports Africa News (EAN).

Discussing Bett’s ongoing inclusion of esports in the conference, Bjorn Sirum, Head of Product at Bett, expressed enthusiasm, saying: “We’re so excited to be welcoming Esports @ Bett back to the show for the third year in a row, in partnership with the British Esports Federation and our technology partners, Acer and Dell!

“Esports is such an innovative way to use technology in the classroom. It can offer a platform for students to pursue passion, competition, and develop future skills, much like traditional sports. Join us on January 24th-26th for a packed schedule of exciting content, live gaming and case studies from across the world.”

Mia Sutherland, Senior Client Engagement Executive at Bett, emphasised the importance of hearing from various perspectives. “At Bett, we value having diverse voices across our theatres – the future of education relies on us all working together to be successful! We’re so excited to be welcoming representatives from Esports News Africa to share their experiences within esports in education and the positive impacts it has had on students across Africa. Hearing from perspectives from across the world helps us in achieving greater global collaboration in education.”

Gabriel further explained, highlighting the richness of Africa—a continent teeming with talented, experienced, and knowledgeable individuals across various fields. “Africa is a diverse continent and has very talented, experienced, and knowledgeable people in all fields. Over the years, in many industries, we have had ‘foreigners’ speak about Africa in various capacities from their perspectives. In many instances, their contributions are not factual and do not base any deeper knowledge or experience on the diversity and complexity of the continent.”

“Having an experienced, knowledgeable African from a specific industry speak on a specific subject means a lot to the populace they represent. The populace sees their own person representing them in a way they can relate to. Having representation is a great way of building trust in a community. This also applies in context to other societal groups and associations,” the EAN co-founder further explained.

Bett is a massive EdTech event known globally, connecting the EdTech community with content, networking, and discovering new products. While some may think esports doesn’t fit, Mia dismisses this idea. She says, “Bett is always looking for new ways to show our audience the role technology has in the classroom, and how we can aspire for better education outcomes for all learners through the use of emerging technology. Esports is an excellent example of this, and we’re excited to be welcoming the feature back for its third year. Esports in education is a method to engage students who might not be catered for by traditional subjects and activities. Esports can offer a platform for students to pursue passion, competition, and excellence, much like traditional sports.”

The event, which will take place from January 24-26, will see Bett teaming up with British Esports for its esports activities once again. Technology partners for this event include Acer for Education and Dell. The EdTech conference will have exhibitors from various esports-related industries, including Williams F1, ACER Europe, Ozobot, and Horizon Educational. Esports Insider, the official esports media partner, will also have a presence at Bett 2024.

The three-day event will showcase the competitive side of esports with the return of community-focused Rocket League tournaments. Attendees can explore various esports solutions during the conference.

The showcase starts in the UK, then heads to Brazil from April 23 to 26 and Asia from October 2 to 3. Mia shared that they’re on the lookout for opportunities, hoping to bring a Bett showcase to Africa soon. “Bett is a global show, with 40% of our attendees coming from overseas, from over 130 countries. We hope that this international growth continues. We’re always looking for and monitoring new opportunities in other regions.”