AFRICAN NETWORK CAMPAIGN ON EDUCATION FOR ALL (ANCEFA)
The African Network Campaign on Education For All (ANCEFA), is a dynamic and ever growing campaign network as the name suggests which has, since the year 2000, been advocating for the achievement of the 6 EFA goals. Its main focus is to help build strong national coalitions which will engage their national governments as effective partners to ensure that all citizens attain their right to education.
ANCEFA has 32 members across Africa with 6 moderators who work closely with countries in the sub-regions. ANCEFA attends to national coalition capacity building in various ways such as: effective communication, advocacy, research, policy dialogue and documentation . Lately ANCEFA has helped countries embark on budget tracking and participatory school governance to ensure that funds targeting schools and other education programmes are used for the intended purpose.
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Jennifer M. Chiwela
ANCEFA Board Chairperson
Chairpersonship
My responsibilities, first and foremost as moderator for the countries in the Southern African sub-region include mentoring the various national coalitions so that they can better serve civil society members in their own countries. That translates into activities such as: visits to individual countries, linking ANCEFA to important institutions such as SADC within the sub-region, and partners like Open Society Initiative in Southern Africa (OSISA) and IIZ/DVV, UNESCO (both in Harare and Windhoek), and creating linkages with the Forum for African Parliamentarians Education (FAPED).
As ANCEFA Board Chairperson, my responsibilities include chairing board meetings, supporting the ANCEFA Secretariat whenever they need consulting, maintaining contacts regularly with all board members and helping generally to provide direction for the organization.
When did I become Chairperson?
I was first elected Chairperson of ANCEFA in November 2005 and have recently been re-elected as Chairperson at the last 2009 General Assembly.
What positive change has ANCEFA contributed since its establishment?
ANCEFA has brought about enhanced awareness to African governments of the need for Africa to invest in education for the development of the continent. The Network Campaign is also part of the global civil society movement that is lobbying international partners to keep their promises to fund education in Africa . ANCEFA has also become a major mouth-piece for civil society in the quest to achieve the EFA goals. Through its efforts, more and more civil society organizations in the African countries are now speaking with one voice and through that way, have learnt to provide evidence-based data on the state of education on the ground; together they have also created a platform for sharing experiences and good practices throughout the continent, through newsletters and meetings.