Africa Foundational Learning Exchange in the Year of Education 2024

Moving Together from Commitments to Impact at Scale

Kigali, Rwanda  November 11-13, 2024

The African Union (AU) declared Education as the Theme of the Year 2024 and called upon all partners to coalesce towards the achievement of the Continental Education Strategy for Africa 2024, as well as other global, regional, and national commitments on ensuring education for all children in Africa. The AU, the Association for the Development of Education in Africa (ADEA), the World Bank, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF), the Hempel Foundation, UNICEF, USAID, FCDO, the Mastercard Foundation and other key development partners recognize the importance of foundational learning and have focused efforts on supporting governments on the continent to tackle the challenges of poor learning outcomes at the foundational learning level by working with Ministries of Education and providing opportunities to share and learn from each other on what works to improve foundational learning.

African nations are committed and ready to focus on improving learning outcomes. Previous national and regional convenings have highlighted the urgent need to enhance learning outcomes for children in Africa as a human right, and as a pre-requisite for achieving the African Union’s Agenda 2063. In 2023, the Government of Tanzania and the World Bank along with AU, BMGF, Master Card Foundation, and other partners brought together eighteen heads of state, and high-level representatives of 43 African governments at the African Heads of State Human Capital Exchange, to elevate the discussion on the importance of investing in people. Participating countries committed to achieve the following by 2030: (i) Increasing accessibility, affordability and ensuring quality education as well as reducing learning poverty by at least a quarter; (ii) Improving adult literacy rates to reach 75%; (iii) Providing training on skills to an additional 19 million to acquire digital skills for jobs; and (iv) Achieving a Gross Enrollment Ratio of 20% in tertiary education. In the same year, ADEA’s High Level Policy Dialogue Forum (HLPDF) in Zambia (2023) brought together ministers from eleven countries and ministerial representatives from ten countries and culminated in a ministerial communiqué affirming the importance of foundational skills and urging intentional efforts by governments to safeguard children’s access to high quality education. Africa Foundational Learning Exchange (FLEX) 2023, a regional forum for sharing technical strategies and experiences in the delivery of education on the continent, resulted in a joint declaration that re-emphasized the governments’ commitment to foundational learning. In 2024, a Pre-AU Exchange High Level Round Table on Foundational Learning, organized by Human Capital Africa in collaboration with ADEA, UNICEF, and the Dangote Foundation articulated a Call to Action on foundational learning. 

Taking Stock Together. As the Year of Education 2024 draws to a close, the AU, ADEA, World Bank, BMGF, Hempel Foundation, UNICEF and other key partners are collaborating with the Government of Rwanda to bring together education actors across the continent for the Africa Foundational Learning Exchange 2024. 

Event Objective. The largest platform for country-to-country exchange around education on the continent, the Africa Foundational Learning Exchange 2024 will bring together distinguished policymakers, thought leaders, development partners, implementers, and other education actors from across Sub-Saharan Africa to catalyze the scaling of successful interventions that enhance foundational learning. Countries will exchange progress made on commitments in foundational learning at various fora including the 2023 FLEX gathering in Sierra Leone, the 2023 Heads of State Human Capital Exchange in Dar es Salam, and the 2024 ADEA High Level Policy Dialogue in Zambia. Through a series of presentations, panels, round table discussions, formal and informal dialogue over three days in Kigali, participants will share knowledge derived from foundational learning efforts on the continent and jointly plan the way forward towards meeting targets.

The three-day Foundational Learning Exchange will consist of:
Day 1. Technical Sessions on Foundational Learning
Day 2. Event Opening, Ministerial Round Table, and Country to Country Technical Exchange
Day 3. School Visits, Ministerial Reflections, Resolutions for the Way Forward