A two-day Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) partners’ meeting is currently underway in Harare, Zimbabwe. Regional Programme Manager Megan Cockerill and Regional MER Specialist Jennifer Norins have joined participants to share work and progress of programmes and projects funded by SDC.
CSTL is a framework through which Ministries of Education of the SADC Member States can lead and coordinate the range of care and support services delivered in and through schools
Care and Support for Teaching and Learning (CSTL) is an innovative approach that responds to the millions of children and youth in the SADC region whose right to education is compromised by a host of barriers to quality teaching and learning. In an effort to support the education sector to strengthen their systems so that schools are able to serve as sites of integrated support where quality education is secured, an online community – CSTL Pulse – was launched in May 2021.
In Lesotho, the coming together of two important ministries – education and health – has had a major impact on learners’ access to health services. At the centre of this ground-breaking development are Lesotho’s 10 FutureLife-Now! schools.
Miss and Mr Climate Change are determined to make their voices heard. Chosen at the Climate Change convention held by Fort Rixon Secondary School, their role is to bring about awareness of the impact of climate change in the local context.
One of the major challenges faced by Zimbawe’s FutureLife-Now! school communities is a lack of unity and differing perceptions when it comes to the value of education. While schools provide education to afford opportunities for learners to have a better future, many parents do not always support this, and instead promote practices such as child marriages, gold panning and working as herd boys.
Agency is key to addressing the many challenges confronting youth in the SADC region. Young people need space to design and share best practices for addressing climate change challenges.
Learner Takondwa Gankha at the climate change jamboree presenting Bwaila Secondary School’s learner-led project
David Ramushu Secondary School in Zambia is situated in a community where many of its people are malnourished and do not have access to fresh fruit and vegetables. It is for this reason that the school began a food gardening project in September last year. The plan was not only to give the community access to fresh produce, but to create buffer stocks that would meet the growing demand for produce and efficiently cope with volatilities in food production.
Victor Munyumbwe, executive member of David Ramushu Secondary School’s parent/teacher association, hard at work in the school garden
Pictured at the FutureLife-Now! Sharing Meeting (from left) Amir Fouad, Assistant Regional Director, Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation, Dr Lamboly G.N Kumbonek, Senior Programme Officer, SADC Secretariat, Thandi Chaane, CEO, MIET AFRICA, and Prof Robin Sannassee, SPO Education, Skills & Development, SADC Secretariat
A total of 130 representatives came together – some virtually and others in person – to participate in the first regional FutureLife-Now! Sharing Meeting of 2022.
The successful hybrid meeting took place in Cape Town from 15 to18 February and attendees included 74 government officials from 14 of the 16 SADC Member States, as well as representatives from the SADC Secretariat, the Swiss Agency for Co-operation and Development, MIET AFRICA and various development partners.
The meeting provided the SADC Member States with updates on FutureLife-Now! activities, the ESA Commitment evaluation and recommitment process, status of CSTL mainstreaming and the #1 Million Ubuntu Youth Leaders Movement.
Register your participation to this webinar which will introduce the CSTL community to the SADC Child and Youth Agency Framework. This useful webinar will also share information on available resources and support to encourage all Member States to use the Framework to enrich their education systems.
Click here for the invitation with the link to register, and here for the Information Note.
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