The five alliances were amongst nine shortlisted alliances that underwent the Year Zero process where a small number of applicants are awarded support to develop a full project proposal. After undergoing the six-month process of developing their shortlisted concept notes into full project proposals, the five alliances were selected to receive full implementation grants by an independent panel of technical experts with backgrounds in gender, human rights, program management, research, advocacy, and capacity building.

Education Out Loud received 173 applications based in 59 countries for this second open call for applications under Operational Component 3 which closed in September 2020. Under this component, grants are provided to organisations working to create a stronger global and transnational enabling environment for national civil society advocacy and transparency efforts, change strategic policies and practices, and increase transnational civil society alliances’ capacities. With the award of grants to these five alliances, Education Out Loud has now granted all available funding under this Operational Component 3.

We warmly welcome the five alliances and look forward to working with them.

Read more about the five alliances and their projects below.

Girls Education Advocacy in the Region (GEAR)

Countries: Malawi, Zambia & Zimbabwe

Implementing organisations: Students and Youth Working on reproductive Health Action Team (SAYWHAT) (lead), Farming Communities Education Trust (FACET), Girls Activists Youth Organization (GAYO) & National Action for Quality Education in Zambia (NAQEZ)

The project: The GEAR alliance aims to ensure inclusive and equitable education systems for girls in rural and farming communities with limited access to primary and secondary education in Malawi, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. Despite all three countries being signatories to progressive education frameworks, domestic funding of education systems, curriculum, and infrastructural facilities for education in rural and farming communities are lacking. The ambition of the alliance is to use advocacy as a tool to ensure that governments in the three countries are being held accountable in creating inclusive and equitable education systems for girls and young women in farming and rural communities of the three countries.

The alliance: The lead applicant of the alliance, SAYWHAT, is a Zimbabwean NGO working to protect, promote, fulfill, and respect human rights through the creation of inclusive policies and programs in the region. NAQEZ is present in almost all 116 districts of Zambia and works to help the government improving the poor standards of education in Zambia. GAYO is a non-profit organisation in Malawi primarily concerned with creating a conducive environment on girl’s rights and related issues through research, development, entrepreneurship, and citizen participation. GAYO is furthermore committed to enhance effective participation of youth in key decision-making structures at all levels in Malawi. FACET is an NGO based in Zambia working to empower farming communities through education and specifically focuses on youth and adolescent girls to protect them from early marriages, gender-based violence, and unwanted pregnancies.

Pamodzi for Inclusive Education in South-East Africa (PIESE)

Countries: Kenya, Malawi & Tanzania

Implementing organisations: Rays of Hope Ministries (lead), Fount for Nations, Kesho-Kenya & Shule Direct

The project: The PIESE project aims to reduce the policy implementation and awareness gaps that exist between inclusive education policies and programming in Malawi, Kenya, and Tanzania. Despite strong global, regional, and national policy frameworks on inclusive education, the three countries still score low on inclusive education policy awareness, and there is a significant disconnect between the policy framework and subsequent implementation. The ambition of the project is to strengthen the use of evidence on inclusive and special needs education, advocate for the development of a community-driven, economic, and social rationale for investing in the implementation of inclusive special needs education. The project will develop an online policy monitoring tool to be utilized by key stakeholders and civil society.

The alliance: Rays of Hope Ministries in Malawi works to enhance academic achievements of children and youth, provide job skills and leadership training to youth, and to provide a safe and controlled environment for young people to deliberate on their challenges. Fount for Nations in Malawi works to ensure equal learning opportunities, inclusive education, and health access for children with disabilities. Kesho-Kenya works with financial support to access of education, literacy and academic support in public schools, accountability mechanisms in school communities, and education advocacy at both local and national level. Lastly, Shule-Direct in Tanzania provides local and digital study platforms for learners in Tanzania. Through these platforms, the organisation is targeting primary and secondary level learners as well as educators, schools and caregivers enabling them to create, develop, and deploy impactful solutions.

Civil society partnership for advocacy for non-formal education

Countries: Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, and Chad

Implementing organisations: Groupe de Recherche et d'Action pour le Développement (GRADE) (lead), Association pour la promotion d l’éducation non formelle (APENF), l’Organisation d’appui aux populations rurales (AAPPOR) & l’ONG Université Populaire du Tchad

The project: The project, funded by Education Out Loud, aims to create a sub-regional environment conducive to the promotion of non-formal education and better synergy between governments and civil society active in the non-formal education sector. The project is being implemented in the Sahel region which is experiencing a rapid increase in the population while at the same time dealing with social unrest and a dire security situation. The project aims to find solutions to this social crisis by promoting literacy and non-formal education in the four Sahelian countries. Non-formal education is an alternative way of training adults and reintegrating those excluded from formal education systems due to the prolonged social and security crisis in the region.

The alliance: The lead organisation of the alliance, GRADE, works to contribute to social and sustainable development through improved health and education in Africa. It works with leadership and training, the design and implementation of programmes for women and adolescent girls, as well as research and advocacy in the region. APENF, based in Burkina Faso, works on the areas of vocational training, women’s empowerment and supporting young people, especially girls, in training and in creating stable jobs. The organisation also has experience with advocacy and social mobilisation for quality non-formal education. Lastly, AAPPOR in Mali and Université Populaire in Chad both have experience working on non-formal education, particularly functional literacy, as well as with active community participation.

Adolescent Mothers’ Education Initiative (AMEI)

Countries: Zimbabwe, DRC & Uganda

Implementing organisations: World Vision UK (lead), RESULTS Educational Fund, Education Coalition of Zimbabwe (ECOZI), Coalition Nationale de l’Education Pout Tous (CONEPT), World Vision Zimbabwe (WVZ), World Vision DRC (WVDRC) & ISER

The project: The project contributes to ensuring that all pregnant girls and adolescent mothers have access to continue and complete a free, safe, quality, and inclusive education. Pregnant girls and adolescent mothers face various barriers to continued education including the absence of strong and effective strategies for implementation of laws and policies that support re-entry and continued learning, limited capacity and resources to implement policies, negative social norms, and absence of an enabling environment to support continued learning. This project aims to integrate civil society alliances and representing diverse actors in transnational policy debates to facilitate the inclusion of citizen voices in transnational spaces dealing with continued education for pregnant girls and adolescent mothers.

The alliance: World Vision UK works to ensure the rights and protection of the most vulnerable children through inclusive, gender-transformative, multi-sectoral, and community-level programming. WVZ and WVDRC are both country offices of World Vision International and work to improve the well-being of children through a variety of projects, and aim to effectively mobilise actors, engage politicians and empower communities in their respective countries. ECOZI has over 51 members and promotes education for all in Zimbabwe through coordinating civil society voices in evidence-based education advocacy, implementation and review. CONEPT is made up of 60 CSOs in the DRC and has, amongst other things, campaigned against sexual and gender-based violence and works to improve the quality of education and school governance in the DRC.

KYUNDA COLLECTIVE - addressing the learning crisis through system strengthening

Countries: Malawi, Mozambique, Tanzania & Zimbabwe

Implementing organisations: Global Integrity (lead), Public Service Accountability Monitor (PSAM), Agenda 2063 Academy, Centre for Learning and Capacity Building (CESC), Forum for African Women Educationalists Malawi (FAWEMA), Teach for Zimbabwe, Policy Forum & Stimulus Africa

The project: The project will contribute to improve the ability of rural youth collectives to participate effectively in transnational spaces and positively influence access, quality, and relevance of education system for enhanced learning outcomes, particularly for marginalised groups. Inequitable learning outcomes rooted in learning poverty are some of the most compelling drivers of vulnerabilities among rural youth in Southern Africa. This project aims to strengthen CSOs, responding to specific learning problems directly affecting rural youth populations, and related stakeholders in the education system to participate in regional and transnational spaces. Hereby, civil society organisations and related stakeholders are able to lobby for policy reform, build pressure for national accountability, and exchange information for transnational learning and adaptation to support rural youth in Southern Africa.

The alliance: Global Integrity 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. Stimulus Africa, based in Zimbabwe, works with advocacy and skills development to economically empower marginalised women and youth. CESC works to strengthen the capacity of citizens and CSOs to actively participate in socio-economic and political development processes while FAWEMA works to support girls and women to acquire education and training for development in Malawi. PSAM is an institute at Rhodes University with technical experience addressing societal problems orienting from systemic public resource management failures. Teach for Zimbabwe focuses on reshaping educational systems to be inclusive and representative of highest-need communities while the Agenda 2063 Academy advocates for the Africa Union’s fifty-year roadmap for creating a united, prosperous and inclusive Africa. Lastly, Policy Forum is a network of over 60 Tanzanian CSOs drawn together by their interest in augmenting the voice of citizens to influence policy processes.