More than half of Africa's youth and adults do not have basic literacy skills and/or have not completed primary or secondary school. It is deeply concerning how little serious attention has been paid to the potential ways in which ICT can enhance such skills, as part of a pro-poor model of ICT for Development (ICT4D). Such work is crucial if the goals of Education for All (EFA) and the Millennium Development Goals (MDG) are to be achieved. The present effort, "Information Technologies and Education for the Poor in Africa" (ITEPA), is designed to focus attention on what is being and has been attempted in this domain in some of the poorest communities in Africa.