Girls' Education in Africa: Translating Policy into Action Report of FAWE's Third General Assembly held in Nanyuki, Kenya back a page | next page FAWE held its third General Assembly in Nanyuki, Kenya from 25 - 26 July 1996. The Assembly brought together 80% of its core membership comprising African women ministers of education, vice-chancellors of universities and other senior policy-makers in education from 27 African countries. This Assembly was unique in many ways. It was the first time the General Assembly was being held on African soil. The previous Assemblies held in 1992 and 1994 had taken place in Bellagio, Italy. The growth and impact of FAWE was reflected by the presence of representatives from 11 national FAWE chapters, namely: Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Gabon, Guinea, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, South Africa and Zambia. Each chapter presented its activities through formal presentations and colorful multimedia displays. Partners who attended the General Assembly as observers held a round table discussion with FAWE members, during which they confirmed their continued commitment and support to FAWE in addressing girls’ education issues in Africa. Translating policy into action Under the theme Girls Education in Africa: Translating policy into action, members reviewed FAWE’s activities over the past three years and laid down strategies for the future. The major achievement has been the review of policies related to girls’ education. For the future it was deemed imperative that the organization move from policy review to positive action. Particular focus will be given on the problems of underachievement and underenrollment of girls in education in Africa and how the costs of education contribute to the low levels of achievement and enrollment. Members noted that for FAWE to be more effective and have a greater impact on girls’ education, partnerships with all stakeholders in education were vital. FAWE national chapters would be a crucial link to identify priority issues on the ground, generate new ideas on how to tackle problems, explore and disseminate information on good practices and advocate for greater participation of girls in all areas of education. New partnership with the media The most recent partnership to be formed was with the media in Africa. Media practitioners from 18 African countries spent two days preceding the General Assembly in a workshop to discuss the theme The Role of the Media in Supporting the Education of Girls and Women for Development. The aim of the workshop was to increase awareness on issues and concerns of girls’ education and to foster a partnership between FAWE and the media in the promotion of female education. At the end of the workshop, the participants, who included print, audio and folk media journalists, committed themselves to, writing stories or producing programs in support of the cause for girls’ education. This was realized shortly after as the media practitioners who attended the General Assembly as observers turned the venue into a major news event. Presentation of the first Agathe Uwiligiyimana Award The pinnacle of the General Assembly was the presentation of the first Agathe Uwiligiyimana Award to three awardees from Kenya, Ghana and Malawi. The Award recognizes innovative achievement in female education in Africa. In Kenya, the award was given to the Materi Girls Center for their creative linkage of the school and community providing a holistic approach to girls’ education starting with teenage mothers and their children to post-secondary school training. The Teenage Mothers Centre in Abiriw, received the award for Ghana, for its support of teenage mothers through welfare and skill building. The Center’s objective is to facilitate the integration of mothers into society. The Theater for Development in Malawi also received an award. A novel project of the University of Malawi, it provides a forum for information gathering and dissemination for rural communities in Malawi. Each awardee received a certificate, a sculpture and a cash prize of US$ 6,000. Sixty per cent of the prize goes to the improvement of the projects and forty per cent to the originators of the project. In a serious but relaxed atmosphere, FAWE members and partners brought to Africa and the world the spirit of commitment and sense of purpose required to alleviate the crisis of female education in Africa. In her summary remarks, Katherine Namuddu, senior scientist of the Rockefeller Foundation, reiterated the continued need for partnerships and urged that FAWE build strong links with girls themselves through clubs and other school-based activities. According to her, 'the Third FAWE General assembly has proved once again that FAWE's mandate is crucial and that its approach continues to be strategic'. Forum for African Women Educationalists (FAWE)

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