Discussions about Africa’s challenges appear to be never-ending. But amongst the common perceptions of Africa, often the fact that charismatic leaders like Nelson Mandela, Desmond Tutu and Wangari Maathai drew their power from the environment they lived in, found support in their communities regionally and eventually received international recognition, is ignored.
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‘Studentpreneurs’ the key to reducing school dropouts
As early school dropout rates in Tanzania continue to be a major problem both in villages and towns alike, a vocational training college is getting to the root of the problem by turning learners into ‘studentpreneurs’ , using a self-sufficiency model where the education pays for itself.
Digital society at a crossroads: Do we want learners or consumers?
Digital literacy is just as important as reading, writing and maths. This is the message the Mozilla Foundation, the non-profit organisation supporting open source projects, wants to spread as it powers forward to provide a web that’s empowering and educating people. Because, they say, “we can’t do it alone.”
Digital initiatives shaping the future of African journalism
Advancements in training and technology that cater specifically to the needs of African journalists are beginning to pave the way for a new era in African journalism.
Ethiopian entrepreneurs rival the ‘chalk and talk’
Entrepreneurs Eskinder Mamo and Amanuel Abrha were born and raised in Ethiopia, but after completing their higher education in Europe have since been based in Berlin, Germany. After the successful launch of their IT and business consulting startup, they are now determined to use their experience abroad to help contribute to the development of their country of origin.
From farmers to businesswomen: eLearning promotes economic empowerment
Women selling fruit, handicrafts, milk or eggs all have one thing in common: the main problem they have faced up until now is that they have had no way to access markets beyond the one down the road from their farm or home… until now.
‘We had to get creative’: Digi-tales from Africa’s resourceful librarians
Andrew Carnegie once said, “A library outranks any other one thing a community can do to benefit its people. It is a never failing spring in the desert.” Today, libraries are just as important as they were in Carnegie’s time, serving as ‘e-hubs,’ where citizens can access scholarly research from around the world.
Sharing solutions: How eLearning can tackle health worker shortages
The Ebola crisis in West Africa exposed the overwhelming need for trained healthcare professionals. But as many educational institutions are already stretched to their capacities, more and more eLearning modules are being developed to train much-needed nurses, midwives and other health workers outside the classroom.
Open educational resources: taking charge of technology
“The opposite of ‘open’ isn’t closed. The opposite of open is broken.” This quote, by the open-access advocate John Wilbanks, isn’t just applicable to the realm of data – it’s relevant to education, too.
Live and learn: classrooms explore Ethiopia’s utopia
His wife left him, his family disowned him and he was labelled mentally ill all for trying to create a new way of life, but Ethiopian farmer Zumra Nuru has since proven that his ideas for equality and justice were the key to reducing poverty and increasing development. Starting from scratch in 1972, Nuru has created a democratic, sustainable community, where women and men […]
