Did you know that our community spans over 120 countries, with some of our main work happening across Africa? We set up World’s Largest Lesson Africa to collaborate with some of our key partners in Nigeria (with DEAN Initiative), in Kenya (with SteamLabs Africa) and Francophone Africa (with FORAM Initiatives). Together, we work to bring the SDGs into more classrooms and communities, as well as support educators to embed sustainability into their teaching and learning. Keep reading this blog if you’re interested to learn more!
DEAN Initiative (Nigeria)
DEAN’s mission is to empower young people with the confidence and leadership skills they need to become agents of change in their communities. This is achieved through direct youth engagement and student voice, or through upskilling teachers and redesigning curricula in line with the Transforming Education mission.
Examples of projects:
- Transforming Education Survey: DEAN played an instrumental role in helping us gather the views of students in Nigeria and how they felt about their current education. Together, we reached more than 10,000 students.
- NextGen Teacher Toolkit: Most recently, WLL and DEAN collaborated to create a comprehensive teacher capacity building programme, focused on inspiring teachers to rethink their approach to learning and embrace more impactful, relevant and holistic practices grounded in sustainability education (ESD). The programme will be delivered in the form of Bootcamps, starting with 300 teachers in Abuja, Lagos and Enugu states.
- Hygiene Education: DEAN led a water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) campaign, where they delivered hygiene education to 90,000 students in over 200 schools across the country.
Impact numbers: We launched WLL Nigeria in 2018 with DEAN. Through a week-long SDG activation, DEAN reached 1 million students across Nigeria!
STEAMLabs Africa (Kenya)
STEAMLabs Africa seeks to empower the African students, educators and community through STEAM Education.
Examples of projects:
- Generation Earthshot: Generation Earthshot was an educational project that focused on environmental sustainability. It was delivered to Kenyan educators and students by STEAMLabs Africa in collaboration with WLL, the Earthshot Prize and the Royal Foundation to help learners develop their creative problem-solving skills using Design Thinking.
- Fact-ivism: STEAMLabs supported WLL’s Fact-ivism campaign which saw students dive into the data around the SDGs and use their creativity to visualise key data sets! (link to fact-ivism site)
- Do Your Bit Challenge: Every year STEAMLabs Africa partners with the do.your:bit organizers to bring this global challenge on SDGs using the Micro:bit kit to encourage learners of ages 8-18 in Kenya to exercise their imagination and combine creativity. The challenge invites learners to identify and research a problem, then design and code solutions using the BBC micro:bit.
- Teens Innovation Week: In a rapidly evolving world, the Teens Innovation Summit empowers and prepares the next generation of leaders to drive positive change. This groundbreaking event, specifically tailored for teenagers between the ages of 12 and 19, serves as a catalyst for innovation, collaboration, and problem-solving. Bringing together high school students, educators, and experts from various industries, The summit creates a supportive and collaborative environment for self-directed exploration, innovation and communication using STEAM pedagogies, and edTech tools. WLL have featured as guest speakers every year since its inception.
Impact: To date, STEAMLabs have reached more than 60,000 students and 6,200 educators in 80 schools across Kenya.
FORAM Initiatives (Francophone Africa + Cote d’Ivoire)
FORAM Initiative has been a partner of WLL since 2018. Over the years, FORAM’s mission has strongly focused on bringing climate and sustainability education to underserved children and communities across Benin and Togo. Through a strategic approach on non-formal and informal education, FORAM uses sports, chess, art and project-based learning to cultivate young people’s knowledge and skills for action.
Examples of projects:
- Transforming Education Survey: Through their access to vulnerable and hard-to-reach communities, the team at FORAM was able to bring a voice to some of the most under-served children in Africa. We are proud to have been able to include those critical voices on education in our final report.
- AFCON 2023: FORAM led a multi-level and comprehensive climate action campaign during the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations in Cote d’Ivoire. Inspired by our previous Climate Changemakers campaign, FORAM rallied action with Eco-Supporters around stadium clean-ups and plastic recycling, as well as advocacy and awareness on climate action.
- Artivism: With a view to creating more sustainable habits, FORAM is encouraging circular design thinking in youth by creating opportunities for them to repurpose and transform plastic bottles and waste into art and fashion.
Impact: FORAM’s impact and reach stretches across multiple countries, from local community and school-based activations, to vocational and higher education settings. FORAM is in a unique position to engage and acti
The partnerships forged through the World’s Largest Lesson Africa portfolio demonstrate the powerful impact of collaborative efforts in education. By aligning with DEAN Initiative in Nigeria, STEAMLabs Africa in Kenya, and FORAM Initiatives across Francophone Africa, we are reaching new heights in embedding sustainability within classrooms and communities. These partnerships not only empower educators and students with vital skills and knowledge but also inspire them to become proactive contributors to a sustainable future.
