African philanthropic institutions are demonstrating how donors can more effectively foster independent action and strengthen movements for change. This different approach may hold the key to durable developmenton the continent.
By Elizabeth Coleman and Halima Mahomed
Although many donors recognize that top-down approaches and solutions that are not rooted in context are less likely to succeed, few manage to include partners and beneficiaries in decision making in very meaningful ways. One of the exceptions is TrustAfrica, an independent foundation based in Africa and led by Africans. It was established in 2006 to practice a kind of philanthropy that not only benefits Africans but actively supports their agency.
It is also the subject of a new book, Claiming Agency: Reflecting on TrustAfrica’s First Decade. As the book’s editors, we sought to understand what this kind of African philanthropy looks like in practice and what difference it has made. In our analysis, five elements stand out:
15 November, 2016 - 31 December, 2016
Curated by ''la Caixa'' Foundation, Barrow Cadbury Trust, Bertelsmann Stiftung, Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, Charles Stewart Mott Foundation, Erste Stiftung, European Cultural Foundation, Finnish Cultural Foundation, Fondation de France, Fondazione Cariplo, Fondazione CRT, Fondazione di Venezia, Fritt Ord Foundation, Fundación ONCE, Körber-Stiftung, Mama Cash, Mozaik Foundation, Oak Foundation, Open Estonia Foundation, Open Society Foundations, Stefan Batory Foundation, The Velux Foundations, TrustAfrica,
EFC’s brand new ‘Championing Philanthropy’ exhibition is open from 15 November until the end of the year. Championing Philanthropy showcases how institutional philanthropy improves lives through projects by its members, and brings to life a wide range of projects that have been devised and carried out by members of the European Foundation Centre’s Governing Council.
Improving early grade literacy in coastal Kenya
With a new series of innovative approaches to early learning, TrustAfrica hopes to improve the basic educational experiences of young learners so that they have what they need to succeed in school.
Ghana's Minister of Education on Wednesday called on tertiary education authorities to attach greater importance to the skill sets acquired by graduates and the prospects for their employment.
"The country has invested tremendous resources in tertiary education over the years and we expect to see the investments turn into new knowledge, innovations and skill acquisition," Jane Naana Opoku-Agyemang told participants at a national summit on tertiary education in Ghana.
The three-day summit has offered an opportunity for stakeholders to make recommendations to inform a draft national vision and plan for tertiary education in Ghana.
Prof. Opoku-Agyemang said Ghana had commenced the process to convert 10 polytechnics into technical universities to strengthen advanced vocational and technical education.
She said the technical universities would train and equip specialists with high level technical skills in engineering, science and technology and promote technology adaptation and innovation in support of local enterprises.
GHANA ALSO REQUIRES A FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT REVOLUTION
IN TERTIARY EDUCATION THAT ADDRESSES EFFICIENCY AND EFFECTIVENESS
ACCRA (Xinhua) -- Ghana’s minister of education here on Wednesday called for a more sustainable funding mechanism for tertiary education that caters for research and the needs of financially distressed students.
Professor Jane Naana Opoku-Agyemang, while addressing a National Dialogue on Tertiary Education in Ghana, said the situation where the cost of education was skyrocketing uncontrollably was a matter of concern to the government and sponsors.
“We do not only require more diversified innovative means of financing tertiary education but we also require a financial management revolution in tertiary education that addresses efficiency and effectiveness,” she stated.
[PRESS RELEASE] The National Council for Tertiary Education (NCTE) in collaboration with the Ministry of Education and TrustAfrica, Senegal will be holding a National Summit on Tertiary Education in Ghana on the theme: “Crafting a National Vision and Plan for the 21st Century” from November 2 to 4, 2016, at the Mensvic Hotel in Accra. The Summit is a follow-up on the National Policy Dialogue on Tertiary Education held in 2013.
The goal of the National Summit is to offer an opportunity for stakeholders to make recommendations to inform a draft National Vision and Plan for Tertiary Education; to propose an implementation framework; and to provide input into the current efforts at developing a long-term national development plan for the nation.
Prof. Jane Naana Opoku-Agyemang, Hon. Minister of Education is the Special Guest of Honour.
Speakers at the programme include Prof. C.N.B Tagoe, Chairman of the National Council for Tertiary Education and Former Vice-Chancellor, University of Ghana, Prof. Jophus Anamuah-Mensah, Former Vice-Chancellor, University of Education, Winneba, Prof. I. Addae-Mensah, Former Vice-Chancellor, University of Ghana, and Dr. Omano Edigheji, Consultant/Advisor, Africa’s Higher Education Dialogues, TrustAfrica, Senegal.
The National Council for Tertiary Education (NCTE), in collaboration with the Ministry of Education and Trust Africa, a Non-Governmental Organization (NGO), with special interest in higher education in Africa and based in Senegal, has revealed their vision for tertiary education in Ghana.
This was done at the opening ceremony of the National Summit on Tertiary Education.
A former Vice-Chancellor of the University of Education, Winneba, Professor Jophus Anamuah-Mensah, said the vision is to build a tertiary education system that supports the development of a dynamic, entrepreneurial and internationally competitive nation, through the development of skilled graduate workforce, research, innovation, and knowledge tratransfer that meets the needs of the economy and improves the welfare of all Ghanaians.
A new tertiary education research fund bill to support research in public universities has been approved by cabinet and is to be laid in parliament for consideration.
The object of the bill is to establish a fund from which lecturers and researchers could access financial support to undertake research in various areas of academia.
When passed into law, it would facilitate the creation of the fund to replace the books and research allowance for lecturers.
The Minister of Education, Professor Naana Jane Opoku-Agyemang, who disclosed this in Accra yesterday at a national summit on tertiary education, said lecturers were expected to access funds financial support from the fund for their research work.
Held on the theme, “crafting a national vision and plan for the 21st Century”, the three-day event brought together educationists and stakeholders to draft a national plan for tertiary education.
The National Council for Tertiary Education (NCTE), in collaboration with the Ministry of Education is organising the summit with the support of Trust Africa, Senegal.
It is under the theme: “Crafting a National Vision and Plan for the 21st Century”,
In a statement issued in Accra, and signed by Mrs. Hilda Asante, the Head of Public Relations and Documentation of the NCTE, said the summit was a follow-up to the National Policy Dialogue on Tertiary Education, which was held in 2013.
The statement said the Summit would offer an opportunity for stakeholders to make recommendations not only to inform the draft National Vision and Plan for Tertiary Education, but also propose an implementation framework.
Tertiary education is an inseparable component in the development of every nation state while research activities of universities provide a crucial support for national innovation and the development of new products and services, Prof. Jophus Anamuah-Mensah, former Vice Chancellor, University of Education, Winneba, has stated.
Prof. Anamuah-Mensah, who was delivering the key note address at the opening of the National Summit on Tertiary Education in Accra, last week, indicated that tertiary education was integral to the achievement of the national vision of a just, free and prosperous Ghana that supported economic development, productivity and broad-based social development.
He said the prosperity of Ghana depended on the quality of education of its citizens, particularly the leadership, and that the vision of the nation could only be realized through a world class tertiary education system that was accessible, internationally competitive, efficient, diversified and enabling Ghana to be a productive knowledge-based economy.
However, he said, the current state of Ghana’s tertiary education system did not provide opportunity for developing entrepreneurial and innovative skills and the realization of such a vision.
