The Mastercard Foundation Centre for Innovative Teaching and Learning (The Centre) has convened its partner organisations in a two-and-half-day workshop in Kigali to orient partners on its new Young Women-Centred Design approach and to co-create an actionable plan to enhance inclusivity to address gender parity in the respective programs of the partners. 

The first of its kind since the establishment of the Centre in 2019, the Inclusion Planning and Mainstreaming Workshop, brought together about 17 partner organisations of the Centre including ADEA to review partners’ collective impact to date, discuss various safeguarding initiatives, co-create and contribute to shaping the inclusion and safeguarding approach for the Centre in areas of Gender Inclusion, Refugee and Displaced Persons Inclusion, Disability Inclusion, Safeguarding, and Youth Engagement. 

In providing an overview of the Young Women-centred Design approach, Joyce Muchena, Head, Gender Mainstreaming at Mastercard Foundation reiterated that the approach is both a mindset and a solution - a creative problem-solving technique which places young women, refugees and persons with disability at the centre. Each session of the workshop was designed to deepen partners understanding, foster inclusive practices, and align with the Foundation’s strategic inclusion goals.

The Centre has reached over 2 million learners through its programs. However, only 33% of these learners are women. This initiative aligns with the Young Africa Works strategy, which seeks to enable 30 million young Africans to secure dignified and fulfilling work by 2030.