Thank you Lucy Mwaniki Project Manager, ASAE | Country Representative, IRDAS

On October 30, 2024, IRDAS (Iniciativa Retorno por el Desarrollo de África Sub-Sahariana) proudly took part in the Bringing the Pact Home civil society consultation held at the UN Office in Nairobi. This key event brought together civil society stakeholders, international organizations, and Kenyan thought leaders to explore ways of adapting the global outcomes of the Summit of the Future to Kenya’s local needs.

Organized by the United Nations Information Service (UNIS) Nairobi and the UN Resident Coordinator’s Office, the event offered a unique platform for organizations like IRDAS and Alliance STEAM Afrika Education to contribute to discussions on sustainable development, equitable education, digital access, and youth empowerment. With the adoption of the Pact for the Future, including its two annexes—the Global Digital Compact and the Declaration on Future Generations—the consultation highlighted the importance of African-led solutions to the continent’s unique challenges.

Throughout the event, speakers and panelists shared insights on localizing the Summit’s goals. For IRDAS, aligning these goals with our mission to promote inclusive development, digital access, and youth empowerment across sub-Saharan Africa resonated strongly. The panel discussion, led by Florence Syevuo of the SDGs Kenya Forum, addressed pressing issues like decentralizing digital resources, financing education, and climate resilience. These are focus areas IRDAS champions through its commitment to regional collaboration and sustainable development.

The event also provided an invaluable networking opportunity for IRDAS. We connected with prominent organizations and advocates who share our vision for an Africa with equitable access to education, digital tools, and the resources necessary for development. The contacts and collaborations we initiated will strengthen IRDAS’s work and enhance our impact across various regions.

As we move forward, IRDAS remains dedicated to fostering regional resilience, especially through educational initiatives like those championed by Alliance STEAM Afrika Education. This event reaffirmed our commitment to supporting Africa’s next generation, bridging digital divides, and building sustainable communities. Through continued collaboration with local and global partners, we are excited to drive actionable change that aligns with the vision of the Pact for the Future while addressing the specific needs of our communities.

Join us to power progress and co-create a more inclusive, sustainable world.

The World Bank Group Youth Summit is back for its 11^th edition, engaging youth on the most pressing topics facing their generation and bringing together thousands of participants from around the world. This year’s edition will focus on Digital Inclusion, AI, and Sustainable Technology.

The Youth Summit is the largest annual gathering of youth (aged 18-35) hosted by the World Bank Group worldwide. The Summit will take place on May 30-31, 2024, with activities and engagements in different regions and at the World Bank Group headquarters in Washington DC.

The Summit’s mission is to:

1) Empower youth to explore innovative ideas that tackle development challenges;

2) Provide youth with the tools to build and engage in impactful projects; and

3) Promote dialogue between youth, the WBG, and other key stakeholders globally.

https://live.worldbank.org/en/event/2024/world-bank-group-youth-summit-2024-powering-progress-digital-transformation

https://www.worldbank.org/en/events/2024/05/30/youth-summit-2024-powering-progress

Midway to the deadline for the 2030 education targets, the 2024 Gender Report publish on April 25 on Girls in ICT day (25 April) assesses the progress made towards achieving gender parity across all levels of education. While examples of stubborn exclusion remain, the report tells a positive story at the global level for girls’ access and education attainment over the past two decades.

The extent to which girls are encouraged and empowered to build on their mathematics skills in the early years to take them through to science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) studies and ultimately careers is suggested as the key to ensuring that technological design will work for everyone in the future. The report posits that education has a critical role to play in determining whether the future direction that the digital transformation may take us in will be gender-balanced or not.

A companion to the 2023 GEM Report, A tool on whose terms?, this gender edition asks in what circumstances technology is helping with gender equality in education. While in some instances technology can provide a lifeline for girls otherwise altogether excluded from education, there remain gender divides in access to technology and acquisition of digital skills. 

https://www.unesco.org/gem-report/en/2024genderreport

The under-representation of women in scientific fields is an obstacle to reducing pay inequalities between men and women. Numerous research studies have shown that the lack of parity in scientific careers explains a significant proportion of the pay gap observed between men and women with higher education qualifications. Taking an interest in the determinants of girls’ and boys’ career choices is therefore a central issue in public policies aimed at advancing professional equality between women and men.

https://pedagogie.ac-rennes.fr/sites/pedagogie.ac-rennes.fr/IMG/pdf/fg_et_sciences.pdf

Current context of concatenated crises

There are currently an estimated1 224 million school-aged children in need of support in their educational process due to the impact of humanitarian crises. This highlights not only the disruption of the educational process caused by crises and school closures, but also the learning difficulties experienced by child and adolescent learners living in contexts of crisis, displacement, asylum and refuge. Of the 224 million children and adolescents affected by crises, approximately 78.2 million are outside the school system. The negative impact of this situation is twofold: on the one hand, it greatly impedes the cognitive and personal development of these children, and on the other hand, it puts them at greater risk of violence. A further 119.6 million students affected by humanitarian crises are failing to achieve minimum literacy and mathematical skills despite attending school. Finally, an estimated 24.2 million students may appear to be achieving an acceptable level in the aforementioned skills but are still suffering from the effects of crises and therefore require specific humanitarian support (e.g. through psychosocial support, a crucial component of Education in Emergencies).

Young girls, adolescent girls and young women face greater barriers to accessing education, completing their education and preparing themselves to be active members of society with opportunities for the future, including employment

Financing the education sector: why is it important to fund education in emergencies?

Education in emergencies is underfunded. Although donor disbursement has quadrupled in the last 10 years (from $163M to $786M), these efforts fall short of the amount demanded by OCHA for educational needs, a figure that has multiplied by 7 during the last decade (from just over $400M to $2,900M)13. In 2022, only 26% of the demand for funding for the education sector was met. Between 2016 and 2022, the education sector received only 3% of the total humanitarian budget14, far from the 10% of humanitarian funding for education requested by the Global Campaign for Education. While it is true that those financial contributions to the education sector provided as part of multi-sectoral responses (i.e. projects where other services such as health, food, shelter, etc. are provided in addition to education) cannot be easily accounted for by current global humanitarian funding monitoring systems, the trend shown by the global humanitarian financial analysis remains clear: the humanitariansystem does not prioritize education.

https://inee.org/sites/default/files/resources/english.pdf

https://inee.org/resources/education-emergency-situations-guarantee-basic-right-education-especially-times-crisis

The future of girls in STE(A)M

Female education in STE(A)M refers to the representation of girls and women in the fields of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM). The inclusion of the «A» signifies a more artistic, creative and innovative use of science and technology. Creative industries and artificial intelligence (AI) have transformed the way we perceive science and technology. As a result, there is a need to broaden the concept thanks to this «A» that allows for innovation in a constantly evolving world through the search for new methods to address new challenges. In recent decades, the proportion of women who have completed tertiary education has consistently increased, effectively reversing historical gender disparities. In today’s context, women in almost all OECD countries are more likely than men to hold a university degree. However, when pursuing higher education, women still tend to choose academic fields that often lead them away from science and technology. Women’s participation in fields related to education (80%), health (80%), and social sciences (70%) has remained relatively stable since 2005. Between 2005 and 2020, the percentage of new female graduates in engineering has remained nearly unchanged, hovering around 25% within the OECD. Over the same period, the percentage of female graduates in ICT-related fields has decreased by approximately 3%, representing only 20% of the total student population in this field, despite its widespread recognition and high employability in today’s job market.

Closing the gender gap in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics education fields could play a vital role in diminishing occupational segregation. Simultaneously, it would tackle skills shortages and contribute to the growth of female employment. Ultimately, this would also foster economic growth by boosting productivity and expanding participation in the labour market. While various countries have implemented diverse strategies to enhance women’s engagement in STE(A)M, none have achieved significant success thus far. It is now opportune to adopt a coordinated international approach that unites key stakeholders in addressing the gender gap in STE(A)M more effectively. This approach should leverage data, international research, and peer learning to drive meaningful change.

Within the framework of the Presidency of the European Union, both the OECD and the Spanish Ministry of Education and Vocational Training have united to raise global awareness about the importance of women’s participation in STE(A)M careers by organising a significant international conference dedicated to the future of girls in STE(A)M.

Why the Internacional Conference: The future of girls in STEAM?

Reducing the gender gap in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) education areas could help reduce occupational segregation while addressing skills shortages and increasing the employment and productivity of women.

Countries have developed many efforts to increase women’s participation in STEM fields, however, no nation has successfully completed the task.
It is the main reason of the conference, which is developed by the OECD and the Ministry of Education and Vocational Training of Spain, to share experiences and ideas, such as those which are in the Alianza STEAM website, trying to focus the problem in order to get solutions.
Agenda International Conference The future of girls in STE(A)M.
It is time for a coordinated international approach to bring leading stakeholders together to drive more effective change considering international data, empirical research, and peer learning.

Read More

https://alianzasteam.educacionyfp.gob.es/en/inicio.html

This 2023 report presents an update of the 2022 ECW global figures of out-of-school children in emergencies and their educational outcomes using an updated three-stage methodology. This revised methodology provides a more precise, consistent way to measure education outcomes for children and youth affected by crises. It also allows for more detailed estimates of such outcomes compared to the 2022 version and offers a more articulated analysis of trends of education outcomes in emergencies and protracted crises.

The study finds that the number of crisis-affected children in need of quality education is increasing. It also shows that the problem is not just one of access, but of quality. More than half of crisis-affected children are not achieving minimum proficiencies outlined in SDG4, which calls for inclusive, quality education for all. The study highlights that quality education is key in ensuring improved learning outcomes in crises – and fills data gaps on crisis-affected children in urgent need of quality education as a global good for collective action.

https://www.educationcannotwait.org/resource-library/crisis-affected-children-and-adolescents-in-need-education-support-new-global?utm_source=INEE+email+lists&utm_campaign=12f26b92c0-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2019_10_08_10_35_COPY_01&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_710662b6ab-12f26b92c0-25880608

https://www.educationcannotwait.org/sites/default/files/2023-07/f_ecw1022_globalestimates_paper_mech2_1.pdf

Digital Africa, Technological Transformation for Jobs examines pathways to produce and promote the expanded use of affordable and attractive digital technologies (DTs) that are appropriate for Sub-Saharan Africa’s growing workforce and facilitate continued learning through use. DTs are defined broadly to include digital and data infrastructure, broadband internet, smartphones, tablets, and computers. They also include more specialized productivity-enhancing solutions, such as management upgrading, worker training, procurement, marketing, logistics, financing, and insurance.

Main findings

• Two empirical studies undertaken for this report add to the rapidly growing evidence base that technology provides a pathway to inclusive productivity growth. These studies analyze geospatial information on the rollout of mobile internet towers over time, combined with household data surveys over a six- to seven-year period.  The studies show that internet availability clearly has a positive impact on jobs and welfare.
• Other empirical studies highlight indirect impacts of internet availability on jobs through entrepreneurship, innovation, and foreign direct investment. Internet availability also expands the demand side of production and boosts aggregate growth.
• Despite this good news that internet availability has strong causal impacts on jobs, the report also underscores the relative lack of DT use in Africa. Too few people benefit, as Africa’s internet infrastructure coverage and quality still lags other regions. While 84% of people on average across countries in Sub-Saharan Africa live in areas where 3G service is available, and 54% have some 4G mobile internet service, only 22% were using mobile internet services as of the end of 2021. Usage rates range from a low of 6% in South Sudan to 53% in South Africa, underscoring the heterogeneity of average use and the need for differentiated policy reforms across countries.
• The key DT related issue for African enterprises is still low productive use. The main factors affecting enterprise use of smart phones and computers, and of more sophisticated DTs, are the lack of ability to pay for them and willingness to use them. For example, 1.5 GB of data over 30 days, a package that covers about a few hours of daily use, amounts to about one third of the income for the 40% of Africans who fall below the extreme poverty line.
• In this regard, women tend to be at a disadvantage: Only 2% of micro-sized firms owned by young women and 8% of micro-firms owned by young men use a computer.
• To change this, the report recommends better access to credit, targeted regulations, and market-induced price reductions to help address affordability. Additionally, internet use should be viewed as a means of increasing household earnings and reducing poverty, so the policy goal is to increase the productive use of the internet to increase household earnings, and thus, the ability to pay.
• Sophisticated, creative, and simple-to-use apps with touch screen and voice, and videos in the many languages Africans speak, can also drive greater adoption of these technologies. Development of these kinds of apps and new DTs requires public-private investment and programs with business advisory services and worker training programs. 
• DTs are necessary but insufficient on their own. Electricity, road access, education, and skills as well as attainable financing are all part of the solution.
• Finally, national strategies and related policies to ensure affordability, infrastructure availability, and data infrastructure should be implemented. Investments can include common access facilities for all and hubs for entrepreneurial training and support.
• Bold policy actions that create a conducive DT environment will lead to positive impacts visible to governments, enterprises, and households.

https://www.worldbank.org/en/region/afr/publication/digital-africa

The economic and social prosperity of countries depends on the state of science, technology,
engineering, and mathematics (STEM). Yet, women and girls continue to be underrepresented in STEM
studies and careers, although there is wide variation among countries and across STEM fields. Beyond
the wage gap that comes with women being underrepresented in STEM jobs, the gender gap in STEM is
an inefficient allocation of labor and talent, and a missed opportunity for economies.
This report explores the participation of women and girls relative to men and boys in STEM-related
education and employment through a global, comprehensive review of the evidence. The report focuses
on both the drivers and the solutions related to the participation of women and girls in STEM.

IDENTIFYING GENDER GAPS IN STEM EDUCATION AND CAREERS

Globally, girls and boys enroll and complete primary school at about the same rates. Gender gaps in
attendance and completion, to the disadvantage of girls, are concentrated mainly in some low-income
countries, mostly in Sub-Saharan Africa. In secondary education, in Sub-Saharan Africa, the lowersecondary completion rate is 46 percent among boys compared with 41 percent among girls. On the
other hand, in Latin America, girls are 5 percentage points more likely than boys to complete lowersecondary school.
In STEM learning, girls often score equal to or higher than boys in science and mathematics (figure ES.
1). Gaps between boys and girls in the last four decades have closed as a result of both improvements in
mean scores of girls and a decline in the scores of boys, especially at the upper end of the distribution.
The evidence on Sub-Saharan Africa, though, differs from global averages: boys score significantly
higher in mathematics in 14 of the 19 economies.

https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/server/api/core/bitstreams/d85229dc-c43c-527e-b014-bd6a37d666a8/content

This report, “Transforming Education in Africa: An evidence-based overview and recommendations for long-term improvements”, highlights the progress made in the continent’s education sector over the past decade from the perspective of the Sustainable Development Goals and the objectives of the Continental Education Strategy for Africa (CESA 2016–2025). It highlights the challenges that remain, particularly in the area of equity. By 2050, 1 in 2 Africans will be under 25 years of age. The continent will be home to 1 billion children and adolescents aged 0-18. With the right opportunities, this young and fast-growing population can be a powerful source of growth and progress in Africa, and the world.

The report notes that despite the progress made in recent years, many African children are still out of school, and some who are in school are not acquiring basic literacy and numeracy skills, with the poorest children being the most excluded. The report offers recommendations to African policymakers for a more equitable education system that is in tune with the demands of the century.

https://www.unicef.org/reports/transforming-education-africa

https://www.unicef.org/media/106686/file/Transforming%20Education%20in%20Africa.pdf

Sub-Saharan Africa has 97 million out-of-school children, the highest rate in the world. Children out of school stalls development and is a tragic loss for personal enlightenment and societal progress.

In Eastern and Southern Africa, about 89% of ten-year-old children are unable to read and understand a short text, reflecting a high percentage of learning poverty that was exacerbated during the pandemic. Globally, Sub-Saharan Africa continues to have the lowest participation rate in tertiary education despite enrollment doubling globally between 2000 and 2013 across all regions of the world. And in many parts of the region, especially the fragile and conflict-prone countries, societal barriers continue to persist, keeping many girls and boys out of school and preventing women especially from being educated and becoming equal members of society.

Economies today require skills at varied levels and a robust education system in a country must be multi-pronged and equipped to impart knowledge and skills at all levels of the labor market. However, achieving optimal educational outcomes today is at best, challenging, as the world grapples with its worst education crisis in history following the COVID-19 pandemic.

https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/immersive-story/2023/01/24/transforming-education-across-eastern-and-southern-africa