MMI Joins Campaign Championing Education of African Women, Girls

Mimi Mefo Info (MMI) recently took part in a media workshop involving 20 African journalists aimed at capacitating press men and women to report on girls’ education and popularizing the #AfricaEducatedHer Campaign.

The training held in Nairobi, Kenya, was organized by the African Union International Centre for Girls and Women Education, a specialized and technical unit of the African Union Commission Department of Education, Science, Technology, and Innovation.

The training saw experts on women and girls issues drill media persons on how to tackle challenges relating to advocacy on girls and women’s access to education.

For three days, journalists were educated on key concepts in equality in girls and women’s education, data and evidence for advocacy, maximizing social media for advocacy on girls’ education, and storytelling tools for girls’ education.

The event was held under the theme, “Leveraging the media role in promoting inclusive, life-long, quality, and relevant learning for African girls and women through the #AfricaEducatesHer Campaign.”

Talking during the training, Acting Coordinator of AU CIEFFA, Simone Yankey, said the media could play a vital role in championing girls’ and women’s access to education.

MMI’s representative at the training workshop was able to inform the participants on how the platform’s work is impacting the lives of girls, and advocating for their rights to education, and other opportunities.

At the close of the training, MMI took the commitment to use the skills acquired to intensify reporting so that more girls and women have access to education and opportunities

Origins of the Campaign

In 2019, the world witnessed one of the most deadly diseases, COVID-19, that disrupted several activities, including education.

According to statistics, COVID-19 caused over 250 million children to stay at home in sub-Saharan Africa after schools were grounded. 

Of that number, more than 133 million were girls, and at least 10 million were at risk of not returning to school.

Because girls and women were disproportionately affected by the pandemic – since they bear the burden of care and are vulnerable to gender-based abuse – something needed to be done.

That is why the African Union International Centre for Girls and Women Education (AU CIEFFA), on September 11, 2020, launched a campaign called #AfricaEducatesHer.

This advocacy program was a campaign to create awareness around issues that hinder girls and women from accessing education.

It equally served as a rallying call for youth, educators, civil society organizations, development partners, and AU Member States to take positive action now that guarantees girls return to school.

The campaign has completed its first phase, which focused on addressing the immediate effects of COVID-19 upon African education systems during the school closures.

It is scheduled to run every year until 2025, marking the end of the Continental Education Strategy for Africa (CESA 16-25). 

It is now in its second phase, which aims to address the loopholes exposed by COVID-19 in African countries to sustain learning and protect learning environments during emergencies and the learning losses that occur, especially for girls.

So, between July 2-5, 2024, the Education, Science, Technology, and Innovation (ESTI) Department of the African Union Commission (AUC), through its technical and specialized office AU CIEFFA, organized the first-ever Pan African Conference on Girls and Women’s Education in Addis Ababa.

Nairobi Workshop

As a result of the Addis Ababa conference, the AU CIEFFA again organized a media training workshop in Nairobi, Kenya, to further push the agenda by using the media in the continent to advocate and shape policies that will see more girls being educated and exposed to opportunities.