The opening
The 1st ever Pan African Conference on Girls and Women's Education was held in Addis Ababa from July 02 – 05, 2024. Organised by the Education, Science, Technology, and Innovation (ESTI) Department of the African Union Commission (AUC) through its technical and specialised office; the African Union International Center for Girls and Women’s Education in Africa (African Union CIEFFA). The gathering welcomed more than 600 in-person participants and close to 300 online participants. The four-day Conference was held under the theme “Prioritizing Girls and Women’s Education: A Strategy for Increased Access to Inclusive, Lifelong, Quality, and Relevant Learning in Africa”. The thematic focus aligns with the overall AU theme of the year on Education, “Educate an African Fit for the 21st Century: Building Resilient Education Systems for Increased Access to Inclusive, Lifelong, Quality, and Relevant Learning in Africa.”
Attending the gathering were over 30 government delegations including ministers and other government officials. During the opening ceremony, the event brought together stakeholders from across the board - United Nations agencies, development partners, traditional and religious leaders, youth, adolescents, and civil society organisations working at the intersections of education, gender, and social welfare.
The opening ceremony was graced by high-level officials representing civil society, development partners, Member States and the African Union. In her opening, Antara Ganguli, Director of the UN Girls’ Education Initiative (UNGEI) pointed out the need to go beyond the narrative of making sure girls have access to and attend school and think of solutions to attacking the root causes. “… just getting girls into school is not enough. These figures mask a much more concerning issue: the way we look at girls and what we imagine for their futures. A study done by UNGEI in Sierra Leone showed that despite the country’s success in raising awareness on girls’ education, people’s underlying beliefs about the role of girls and women in society had not changed”, she asserted.
The Central African Republic as Chair of the Steering Committee on Education, Science, and Technology was represented by the State Minister of Education, H.E. Aurelien-Simplice Kongbelet-Zingas. He acknowledged that, beyond being a human right, girls' education must be seen as a necessity. “Today, it is important to recognize that the education of girls and women is not only a fundamental right but also an imperative necessity for the economic and social progress of our various nations”, he said.
The Deputy Chairperson of the AUC, H.E. Dr Monique Nsanzabaganwa stressed the need to use education of girls as a strategic tool. “Education, as a resource, is a game changer in our daily lives, particularly for girls and women’s empowerment. It helps eliminate gender inequalities and inequities, closing the gaps experienced in social, economic, and political spheres. It can help girls and women make informed choices, negotiate their way in all spheres competitively, and have a voice that is respected and understood” she stated.
The 8th High-level Dialogue on Gender Equality in Education
Day 1 of the conference had a keen focus on gender-responsive Education policies within African Union Member States. Under the auspices of the 8th edition of the African Union CIEFFA’s annual High-level Dialogue on gender equality in education, AU Member States represented by ministers and other stakeholders painted a picture of the state of education policies in their respective countries and what they are doing to ensure gender equality in education. The Dialogue was held under the theme, “Fostering gender responsive Education policies through the #AfricaEducatesHer Campaign and the Transforming Education Summit commitments”. The draft Report on the Status of Girls’ Education in Africa, co-piloted by the African Union CIEFFA, UNESCO International Institute for Capacity Building in Africa (IICBA), and UNESCO International Institute for Educational Planning (IIEP) was presented.
During 4 parallel sessions, delegates attending in person and online had to opportunity to go in-depth on different thematic issues geared at promoting girls' education policies. Side events included: “Advancing gender equality in Education: Lessons Learned from the Gender at the Centre Initiative and ways forward”; “Partnerships and Multisectoral Approaches as a Catalyst for Girls Education and Women Empowerment – Home Grown School Feeding”; “Gender Responsive Financing for Education: A Strategic Agenda for the AU theme of the Year of Education”; and “Every adolescent girl in Africa completing secondary school, safe, strong, empowered: time for Education Plus”.
Breaking barriers to girls’ education
Despite progress made in the education of girls and women over the years, multilayered challenges tend to undermine and short-circuit the efforts of the various stakeholders working to advance girls' education on the continent. Harmful practices such as female genital mutilation, gender-based and school-related gender-based violence, and early and forced marriages are a few roadblocks to the advancement of girls and women’s education (GWE). It is in recognition of this fact that day 2 of the Conference sought to capture and seek concrete and feasible solutions to these often resistant setbacks.
Representing the Commissioner for the Health, Humanitarian Affairs & Social Development (HHSD) Department at the AUC, Angela Martins, Acting Director, Social Development, Culture and Sport, HHSD, stated that, “it is important to take note of the intersection between gender-based violence including harmful practices, child marriages and FGM […] exploring how to tackle this perversive issues can hinder the access to and completion in the education of girls. […]. While GBV significantly hampers educational opportunities for girls, education itself is a powerful tool to combat GBV and drive a significant decrease in the cases of child marriages.”
Julie Mwabe, Global Advocacy and Public Policy Lead at the Global Partnership for Education (GPE) acknowledged the toll conflict and security crises have taken on girls' education, “We cannot let our foot off the gas on the support and financing for education given the poly-crises we see in the world today. The experiences many young people and particularly girls continue to face because of the multiple crises we see in the world today and in the African region have susceptibly posed a significant threat and continue to pose long-term implications that hinder girls from reaching their potential and by extension threatening an entire demographic’s future prosperity”
Parallel events included: “Empowering Communities: The Role of Religious and Traditional Leaders in Tackling Gender-Based Violence (GBV) to Enhance Girls’ Education and SRGBV Risks and Norms and Developing Community-based Solutions”; “Towards a Safe Learning Environment for Girls”; “Transforming Futures: Supporting adolescent and young mother’s health, educational and skills journey”; and “Innovative research methods and approaches for civil society collective action to contribute to improving girls', in all their diversity, access to education and addressing harmful practices”.
Engaging youth participation to promote GWE
Day 3 of the conference was dedicated to collect, curate, assess and further stir young people to lead initiatives promoting GWE in Africa. During the different panels, young people from across the continent were opportune to showcase firsthand their initiatives in driving GWE.
During his opening remarks, the Director of ESTI, Prof. Saïdou Madougou emphasized the role of the youth in shaping the future of the educational landscape in Africa. “There is a need to fully exploit the demographic dividend and to include the voices of young people in the process of developing solutions and in leadership platforms”, he affirmed.
The closing
The conference ended on July 05 with a strong call for action and recommendations, emanating from all sessions that were held during the event. The call for action was endorsed by all stakeholders attending; 35 AU Member States, 6 AU organs and AUC departments, 7 UN agencies, 5 development partners, and 17 Civil Society Organisations.
While declaring the event officially closed, ESTI’s Commissioner, H.E. Prof Mohammed Belhocine attested to the Conference being “the single biggest Conference organised by AUC in collaboration with our partners, so far” in the implementation of the road Map of the AU Year dedicated to education.
