Contextual challenges faced in the participating countries The Kuyenda Collective, a consortium funded by Education Out Loud, seeks to contribute to systems strengthening in the education sectors of four African countries namely; Malawi, Mozambique, Tanzania and Zimbabwe.

The desired impact from this project is to strengthen the local systems whilst connecting civil society organisations (CSO’s), Rural Youth Collectives (RYC’s) and Non-Traditional Actors (NTO’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;

• 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
• CSO's & 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 therefore 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" is premised on Learning, Capacity Building and Adaptive Management.

Working through CSO's and NTA's 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 as regards the learning crisis in each country. Ultimately we aim to set in motion a virtuous circle of effective advocacy and engagement by Civil Society Organisation's (CSO's) and Non-Traditional Actors (NTA's) in transnational spaces, which improves the enabling environment for;

• 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 CSO's and NTA's 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

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 capacity for active participation of citizens and Civil Society Organizations (CSO’s) 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 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 advocacy and skills development to economically empower marginalised youth and women across Southern Africa.

Connect with us

Team Kuyenda Collective would love to connect with you and can be reached via the Comms Team at kuyenda@stimulusafrica.com