Press Release: Launch of Kuyenda Collective
The Kuyenda Collective is a consortium of civil society organisations funded by Education Out Loud (OXFAM IBIS), a Global Partnership for Education (GPE) funded programme focused on advocacy and social accountability.
Education Out Loud is a fund for advocacy and social accountability that supports civil society to be active and influential in shaping education policy to better meet the needs of communities, especially of vulnerable and marginalized populations.
The Kuyenda Collective seeks to contribute to systems strengthening in the education sectors of four African countries, namely, Malawi, Mozambique, Tanzania and Zimbabwe.
The desired impact of this project is to strengthen the local systems whilst connecting civil society organisations (CSO’s), Rural Youth Collectives (RYC’s) and Non-Traditional Actors (NTA’s) in the countries with transnational bodies and platforms that influence education policy on the continent, enabling multi-level advocacy to drive sustainable outcomes.
In Africa, the learning crisis has persisted in part due to the focus in national and transnational spaces on questions of access/entry into the education system rather than the more important measure of learning outcomes for those exiting the education system. This has been further compounded by the geographical exclusion of Rural Youth, ineffective educational systems and under-resourced and under-informed systems actors.
Project Aim
The Kuyenda Collective project seeks to contribute to systems strengthening as a means to address the learning crisis in the following ways;
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- Systems thinking development in traditional education spaces in order to shift the dynamics of education-focused systems and networks of actors towards better policies to achieve improved and equitable learning outcomes
- CSOs’ & Non-Traditional Actors (NTA’s) activities enhancement to support & strengthen CSOs, NTA’s and related stakeholders in the education system, enabling them to participate in regional or transnational spaces.
- Give voice & visibility to Rural Youth in transnational spaces, thereby addressing their disconnection from education policy and inability to influence better learning outcomes for themselves.
Our approach
The Kuyenda Collective is working towards “shifting and improving dynamics of education-focused systems for accelerated progress towards improved and equitable learning outcomes” and is premised on Learning, Capacity Building and Adaptive Management.
Working through CSOs and NTAs that support Rural Youth Collectives, we will co-design and support the implementation of locally-led, collaborative and adaptive action plans to address priority challenges regarding each country’s learning crisis focus as determined by the Rural Youth who experience them daily. Ultimately we aim to set in motion a virtuous circle of effective advocacy and engagement by Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) and Non-Traditional Actors (NTAs) in transnational spaces, which improves the enabling environment for;
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- Implementation of national action plans
- Generating resources that further strengthen the capacity and effectiveness of those actors in national and transnational spaces, and
- Contributing to the overall goal of having civil society play a more effective role in driving progress towards learning, equity and stronger education systems.
By the end of the project, the Kuyenda Collective aims to have amplified the voice and enabled greater visibility of education-focused CSOs and NTAs that advocate for better learning outcomes for and support rural youth collectives in Malawi, Mozambique, Tanzania, and Zimbabwe. This agency is to be achieved in both national and transnational spaces – strengthening their advocacy efforts to better engage with decision-makers that affect their experience of the education system.
Our Alliance
The Kuyenda Collective project is an Operational Component 3 (OC3) Grantee under the Education Out Loud 2021 -2024 funding cycle. The Kuyenda Collective project is being implemented by a diverse and complementary alliance consisting of country partners and transnational partners as follows;
Country Partners
The Forum for African Women Educationalists (FAWEMA – Malawi) promote gender equity and quality education for girls and training for women through advocacy, positive policy and gender-responsive programmes, working in close partnership with the Ministry of Education in Malawi.
Policy Forum (Tanzania), is a network of over 60 Tanzanian CSOs drawn together by their interest in augmenting the voice of citizens to influence policy processes to enhance poverty reduction, equity and democratization and increase informed civil society participation.
Centro de Aprendizagem e Capacitação da Sociedade Civil (CESC-Mozambique) works to strengthen the capacity for active participation of citizens and Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) in the processes of socioeconomic and political development by investing in tools and facilitating civic engagement,
Teach for Zimbabwe (TFZ-Zimbabwe) advocates for equitable and quality education for all children by working to reshape educational systems to be inclusive and representative of highest-need communities, challenging systemic and social injustices that perpetuate inequality.
Transnational Partners
Global Integrity (GI) works with government and civil society partners in countries around the world, supporting their efforts to address complex challenges relating to corruption, the use of resources and the delivery of public services.
Public Services Accountability Monitor (PSAM) is an institute at Rhodes University with 20 years of technical experience addressing societal problems originating from systemic public resource management failures across eastern and southern Africa.
Stimulus Africa Foundation (SAF) is a human-centred design and research-driven organisation that focuses on digital advocacy and skills development to economically empower marginalised youth and women across Southern Africa.
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This press release was originally posted on the Education Out Loud Website on 25th April 2022.