The main focus this year was on: (i) the dissemination of results from studies carried out in 1997 together with Florida State University; and, (ii) activities organized by the different country working groups.
Extending research work to Eastern and Southern Africa
Research projects investigating experiences in nonformal education have constituted an important part of WGNFE's work. Two major studies have been conducted: (i) PADLOS-Education (Project in support of local development in the Sahel); and, (ii) the ABEL (Achieving Basic Education) Studies. PADLOS explored local development initiatives in five countries of West Africa (Burkina Faso, Ghana, Mali, Niger and Senegal), focusing on the role of education and training in the success of the initiatives. The ABEL studies have probed a variety of topics related to the acquisition of local competences for development in seven countries (Burkina-Faso, Chad, Ghana, Kenya, Mali, Niger and Senegal). Themes explored include: the practical applications of Koranic literacy; strategies for accelerated literacy of out-of-school youth; the acquisition of new skills by women in income generation; workplace learning in the urban nonformal economy, etc.
In 1997, the WGNFE decided to extend its research work to Southern and Eastern Africa. The topics investigated are similar to those of the PADLOS and ABEL studies in Western Africa.
Disseminating results
Important efforts were made in 1998 to disseminate research results. Results were presented at the International Conference on Adult Education held in Canada, at the July 1998 World Congress on Comparative Education, held in South Africa, and to a number of development agencies in Switzerland, France, Great Britain and Canada. Furthermore, copies of the studies were disseminated and all relevant texts were put up on the Web. They may be consulted at: http://www.fsu.edu/~lv-adea
Country Working Group Activities
Encouraging and supporting the formation of Country Working Groups and stimulating local nonformal activities are essential elements of WGNFE's strategy. Country Working Groups help to raise the profile of nonformal education. They also help facilitate and coordinate activities and programs at the local and national levels. Furthermore, Country Working Groups provide a strategic and reliable conduit through which external assistance can be channelled to support national efforts and create genuine partnerships for promoting nonformal education. Main Country Working Group activities in 1998 may be summed up as follows:
- In Burkina Faso, an inventory of programs, players, results and perspectives concerning nonformal education was completed. The Country Working Group also helped to assess the qualitative impact of nonformal education programs. In cooperation with the Country Working Group in Senegal, the Country Working Group from Burkina Faso travelled to Senegal to examine the issue of the training of locally-elected officials. Members participated in a workshop to evaluate the REFLECT program of Actionaid in Ghana, and gave their support to the creation of a Country Working Group in Mali.
- The Country Working Group in Namibia has redefined its efforts in order to emphasize lifelong learning and the need to develop a national policy in this area. It organized a national follow-up conference to CONFINTEA V, and also completed a survey on adult education needs in Namibia.
- In Ethiopia, a new Adult and Nonformal Education Association (ANFEAE) was created in October 1997, just after the first general WGNFE assembly organized in Dakar. Since then, ANFEAE has developed activities within Ethiopia that promote the exchange of ideas, experiences and knowledge about educating young people and adults. It expects to develop a database for this purpose. All these activities were supported by the IFZ/DVV (Institute for International Cooperation of the German Adult Education Association,) which publishes a newsletter called Focus on Adult and Nonformal Education in Ethiopia three times a year.
- In Senegal, the Country Working Group organized a study trip for colleagues from Burkina Faso. They focused on the training of locally-elected officials in a context of increasing decentralization.
- A new Country Working Group was also formed in Mali. It helped distribute the results of the ABEL study in that country.
Finally, contact was made
with POSDEV (Pan-African Organization for Sustainable Development)
based in Accra, with a view to following-up and coordinating Country
Working Group activities.
M.
Ahlin Byll-Cataria
Leader of the Working Group on Nonformal Education
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