IDAY Newsletter - Winter 2015

IDAY

Newsletter Winter 2015

Education and migration in Africa

Š IDAY-International aisbl

Features

Raising voices for education in Africa

- News from the IDAY network - Education and migration in Africa - Interview with Collins Nweke - Let’s act together to achieve education for the African youth!

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Index 2 - The Chairman’s view 3 - News from IDAY network 4-5 - Education and migration in Africa 6 -7 - Interview with Collins Nweke 8 - Let’s act together to achieve education for the African youth

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About IDAY IDAY-International is an advocacy network of African civil associations working in the education field.

IDAY-International fights for the rights of every young African to get full access to quality education by encouraging a positive and sustainable dialogue between African civil society and their governments.

IDAY-International 19, rue des Jambes - 1420 Braine-l’Alleud - Belgium Responsible Publisher : J-J. Schul Editor in chief / Graphic designer : L. Fourmentin Phone: +32 (0)2 385 44 12 - lfourmentin@iday.org Bank account: IBAN - BE 93 5230 8026 6767 BIC - TRIOBEBB (TRIODOS).

IDAY p. 2 / Winter 2015

IDAY Chairman’s view Dear Friends and Partners of IDAY, The recent tragic events in Europe and in the world have somewhat thrown off screen the migrants crisis from SubSaharan Africa. Yet, it continues unabated with thousands of deaths in deserts, at sea or on European soil.

These migrants respond to the persistent imbalance between extreme poverty in Africa and the extreme wealth of the West and, of equal importance, to the lack of respect for basic human rights in too many African countries.

At the end of this year, which is also a time of wishes for a better world, let us hope that those of good will succeed in avoiding turning in on oneself and show even more solidarity towards those who seek desperately, often risking their lives, to gain respect for these basic universal human rights recognized as foundations of a fair society.

My most sincere thanks go to all of those whose generosity helped IDAY defend these principles in 2015. In 2016, we hope to continue to deserve their crucial support to help African civil society and create the proper environment for the fulfilment of its youth.

On behalf of the staff and members of the IDAY network, I wish you a Merry Christmas and a very Happy New Year.

Jean-Jacques Schul Chairman of IDAY-International www.iday.org

News / IDAY-International Regional seminar on domestic workers The regional seminar on advocacy for domestic workers in East Africa and DRC brought together delegates from more than 5 countries in the region, around issues of legal protection of domestic workers and their access to education.

50 people attended the two-day event, including representatives of the Rwandan Ministry of Labour, the Chamber of Deputies, Workforce Development Authority (WDA), CESTRAR, UNICEF, EU, Transparency International, FAWE, the Ugandan Union of Workers Hotels, Restaurants and Tourism, as well as many local and international NGOs in the sub-region, SOS Children’s Village, Benimpuhwe, Midefehops, YWCA, Terre des Hommes, PLAN International, etc.

The seminar’s conclusions will be available soon. You can already consult the national presentations of survey results (Day 1) and photos from the event on our website www.iday.org.

Youth exchanges to plant Artemisia annua From September to December 2015, Elizabeth Nyadimo helped the “Hello” and “San Poli” schools in Burkina Faso (which total 520 students and 15 teachers) to start the cultivation of Artemisia annua. Despite a difficult start, the plant nurseries were finally successful and the plants will soon be potted then transplanted into fields.

Coordination visit to IDAYCameroun In November the IDAY Coordinator conducted the 2nd coordination and monitoring mission to IDAY-Cameroon since the coalition became a member of the network.

She was able to meet several members of IDAY-Cameroon and various actors from the sectors of education, governance and civil society in Cameroon. Despite Cameroon being considered a non-priority country by the international community in terms of allocation of funds, it still faces important challenges, both in terms of improving the quality of education and in the persistence of barriers to education such as HIV / AIDS or the presence of Boko Haram.

IDAY-Cameroon intends to help address them by bringing together Cameroonian civil society associaitions in a constructive dialogue with their authorities. The visit helped identify possible partnerships and opportunities in terms of organizational and strategic reinforcement to give more impact to coalition activities.

www.iday.org

Elizabeth also attended a training on Artemisia annua organized by the “House of Artemisia” for fifteen people including 8 from IDAY and representatives of Benin and Togo. Elizabeth was able to introduce the participants to the propagation by cuttings.

The cultivation of Artemisia annua is delicate and can show many failed trials, especially at the start. IDAY therefore organizes exchanges of students who have gained experience with this plant to help schools in their first year of experimentation. This mission was funded in part through support from the Anton Jurgens Fund.

IDAY stamps As part of the Domestic workers project, IDAY has produced stamps based on the series of photographs by Rosalie Colfs.

You can order them by sending an email to info@iday.org. The price is 25 € for 20 stamps.

IDAY p. 3 / Winter 2015

Deadly… or vital migrations?

In August 1999, two young Guineans, Yaguine & Fodé attempted crossing to Europe hidden in the landing gear of an aeroplane. Their clandestine journey ended up being a fatal one. The letter they carried was a message from the African youth crying out for respect and a decent future and calling for Europe’s help. At that time, it triggered tears of emotion at the United Nations. Yet 16 years later, young Africans die by the thousands during perilous emigrations.

This deadly exodus is tragically echoing the massacre of the Soweto youngsters on June 16, 1976, who sacrificed their life to bring down Apartheid. Why are Africa and Europe still failing to address the aspirations of a youth who so clearly demonstrates that it no longer trusts its governments but still refuses to give up – even if their life is the price to pay?

The failure of development cooperation Two questions come immediately to mind: - Why the massive aid granted to African countries in the past 50 years (up to 30% of some countries’ GDP) has not succeeded to reduce the significant gap between per inhabitant income in Africa and the rest of the world?

- Why are so many countries on the African continent failing still today to guarantee the provision of quality basic social services for all their people despite good economic growth rates and the large amount of budget support they benefit from?1 The growing influx of migrants from those countries who seem trapped in poverty is the sad proof of the failures of development “cooperation” in its current form: - As Otto of Habsbourg (a long-time President of the Development Committee of the European Parliament) highlighted, we know since 1962 that public aid granted to governments that disregard the fundamental rights of their population and care more about gathering wealth for themselves is not only useless: it is harmful in many ways. It maintains in power individuals who, at worse slow down their country’s development, and at best simply fail to foster it. They often prevent the democratic dynamics that are a necessary for balanced development processes to unfold.

- Several economists have pointed out to the “Samaritan’s dilemma” as another unwanted side-effect of today’s development cooperation. It discourages local governments 1 The outcome of the Education for All Goals set for 2015 proves very concerning: most of Africa’s 54 countries fail to achieve these goals, including ensuring primary education for all!

IDAY p. 4 / Winter 2015

from intervening and investing in sectors most favoured by foreign donors – of which basic social services.

- The Reality of Aid and Eurodad networks have shown that

more than 2/3 of foreign aid never reaches its intended final beneficiaries, that 70% of all public aid are still used

to support non-democratic governments and that the illicit financial flows cause Africa to export more money than what it receives. Despite repeated indications of the failures of this system, nothing has really changed in the past 50 years.

Philanthropy vs Charity Similar shortcomings apply to most private contributions made by generous donors, including the African Diaspora. They often concentrate on isolated projects, thereby creating islands of comparatively better living conditions in contexts ridden with deep inequalities. These initiatives stem from good intentions and it goes without saying that the underlying principle of solidarity must be encouraged. However, as such they do not fundamentally change the living conditions of the majority and they can even have reverse effects.

They also nurture a distorted idea of the reality of “the other”: those who, on the one hand, are thought to have no other option but to rely on external aid; and on the other hand, the ones who are imagined to enjoy life in opulent societies. These misconceptions lead many youngsters to “underestimate Africa’s potential”, as coined by Benin’s Prime Minister Lionel Zinsou2, and to view Europe as their only chance to live a better life.

2 Source: http://www.lemonde.fr/idees/article/2015/09/12/afrique-allers-retours_4754182_3232.html

www.iday.org

Opinion / IDAY

© IDAY 2015-South Africa

The European fortress and intra-African migrations In the face of this logical and ineluctable phenomenon, Europe and many “developed” countries in general behave like besieged fortresses. The migration flows towards these countries are painted not only as an economic threat, but also as an existential attack on their cultural, political and social identity.

One should recall that since the 16th century, Westerners have reaped tremendous benefits from the globalisation of the economy and the open markets system. Hence it would be expected that Europe supports the free circulation of persons towards its territory while avoiding the pitfalls of “chosen immigration”3. Let us also remember that emigration is a fundamental right recognised in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (Art. 13.2).

It is also essential to note that the vast majority of African migrants are going to other African countries. Only for a small proportion of them pick Europe as their destination.

Interregional migrations in Africa are not just the consequence of conflicts and various disasters; most importantly, they feed into a development dynamic that benefits the whole continent – as did intra-European mobility for the Old Continent.

The philosopher John Rawls says that the freedom of each one of us depends on the degree of freedom of the person who enjoys the least of it. By freedom, he means access to the means that allows full exploitation of one’s human potential.

In other words, one’s freedom is necessarily conditioned by the lack of freedom of the most underprivileged people, of which these African youngsters who flee their continent by the thousands. The security crisis that affects many developed countries nowadays is a clear example of this phenomenon.

This is another reason why the challenges that the African youth is facing ought to be a global concern and responsibility, if other continents don’t want to pay the price with their own freedom. Solidarity is a paramount condition to ensure harmony between equality and freedom, which are the pillars of a just global society.

3 Selected foreigners on the basis of their competences indeed carries the risk of depriving developing countries of much needed human resources, thereby contributing to broadening even more the inequality gap between countries.

www.iday.org

What can be done about it?

First of all, European taxpayers must demand that development cooperation and solidarity activities in Africa tackle the real issues effectively. Beyond fighting corruption, what matters most is making sure that aid money serves to defend the basic right of the beneficiaries, rather than supporting governments that demonstrate no real intention to improve the wellbeing of their population.

As for private donors, Abibail Disney4 rightly insists that they should stop thinking that charity is the solution to development issues. Philanthropy is only useful if it seeks to tackle the root, long-term causes of under-development. Specifically, this means strengthening local civil society’s ability to decide over its own future and to hold its governments to account for the public good. The 2015 Nobel Prize Angus Deaton recently echoed these recommendations in the American press. His work demonstrates that foreign aid has an overall negative effect on the economic development of the receiving countries.

His conclusion is that aid may only be useful when it seeks to foster the relationship between people and their government.

The African youth demand nothing but respect for the solutions that they want to implement together with their governments to address the continent’s situation.

In 50 years from now, Africa will be the largest reservoir of youth in the world with more that 1,3 billion youngsters under 24.

This youth is not a curse, quite the opposite it is the continent’s biggest asset for today and tomorrow. It abounds with creativity and entrepreneurial spirit, and it shouldn’t feel constrained to migrate to the “developed world” to achieve its ambitions.

African leaders bear the prime responsibility: they must regain the trust of the youth by ensuring the opportunities and social services it is entitled to – starting with quality education for all.

Under these circumstances, no doubt that Lionel Zinsou’s claim will become reality: “Africa shall surprise the world”.

4 See: http://issuu.com/iday-international/docs/newsletter-automne2014-web-fr

IDAY p. 5 /Winter 2015

Interview with Collins Nweke IDAY had the honour to discuss with Collins Nweke about migrations and education, the role of the diaspora and the current state of development aid.

M. Nweke had the kindness to answer our questions: source : nigeriacamera.net

The issues of migrations and education in Africa are related in many ways: the effects of intra-Africa migrations on national education systems, the use of remittances to sponsor the education of relatives, the brain drain, the return of educated elites...

How do you appreciate the impact of migrations on the achievement of quality education in Africa: are they rather an opportunity or a threat?

Demographic change in Africa brought about by migration, including the so-called South-South migration has an impact on the quality of education in the continent. Whether this change represents a threat or an opportunity depends on how it is managed. If a reactive approach is adopted by African governments, next to other well known existing problems, then of course the continent is doomed when it comes to education.

Without doubt this is not what majority of people want to see.

How then do we ensure that the current inevitable demographic change, especially population growth is converted into opportunities for not only Africa but the global community at large? A proactive approach is the message. In other words, planning is key.

IDAY p. 6 / Winter 2015

But first, let’s look at the facts. Estimates from the UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS) show that by the end of 2015, SubSaharan Africa will witness 36.9 percent or 41.1 million increase in children of school age and adolescents. Countries in this region not only have to provide schools and teachers for all children that have been born so far, they have to increase the capacity of the education system further to accommodate the rapidly growing population. As Advisor in Ostend Municipality in Belgium with a well-developed education infrastructure, I know firsthand how much we struggle to cope when confronted with a few hundreds of refugees or asylum seekers. I can therefore imagine what a huge challenge it must be if we had to expand the capacity of our local education system by more than one third over a period of time as Africa now has to do. I say this simply to underline the difficult but possible work ahead.

Government not only has to provide schools and teachers for all children that have been born so far, they also have to increase the capacity of the education system further to accommodate the rapidly growing population. Private investment in education might be key at current African developmental stage but government has the most crucial role in providing the enabling environment within which all actors, public and private, have to operate. I personally think that a re-channeling of Diaspora remittances, which is huge and increasing yearly, is one of the areas African governments need to look into for education

www.iday.org

Interview / Collins Nweke

* Collins NWEKE has served as Chief Executive and later as Chairman of Nigeria’s official Diaspora body. He is Global Affairs Analyst for several African media and a current two-term municipal legislator at Ostend City Council Belgium.

financing. The establishment of Diaspora Education Bond by African governments should be given consideration. African Diaspora will definitely buy the idea of pulling resources together into a Bond, which will facilitate investment in education while delivering modest returns on their investment. Additionally I know that some African Diaspora professionals in teaching and educational management will be happy to spend sabbaticals at home teaching in schools helping to close the professional gap created by increased population and teacher deficit. Also Official Development Assistance (ODA) could be re-oriented such that NGOs could be supported more out of bilateral budgets, to encourage teacher-exchange and pupil-exchange programmes between developed and emerging or developing economies.

Western countries than the highly educated although there is a significant number of educated African migrants out here in Europe, USA and the emerging Asian countries. The Western countries have become a ready depository for the skills of the better educated African migrants, offering better pay conditions especially in endangered sectors like health and social care.

The lowly educated tend to take bigger migration risks out of desperation of course and sometimes with devastating consequences.

Conversely, are the shortcomings of the education systems of many African countries to blame for the massive migration of the African youth out of the continent? (see example of Yaguine & Fodé)

Addressing migration challenges should be a shared responsibility. I’m sure that Europe has now woken up to the reality that you can’t address illegal migration simply by tightening migration laws or building higher border walls.

There is no doubt that the sustained neglect of the educational system in Africa by successive governments and the lack of long-term vision has led to a massive decline in the quality of education. It also opened the floodgates of private investment in education to help in satisfying the appetites for quality education which Africans are known for but which unfortunately African government are no longer providing through public schools.

Quality education therefore became unavailable and where available through private investment, it became unaffordable for the everyday African. One of the negative impacts of this situation is indeed the mass migration of young Africans out of the continent in search of formal quality education but also a better future for themselves. The case of Yaguine & Fodé remains an open wound in the conscience of the global community.

Does the level of education have an influence on the decision to emigrate? Does it have a rather incentive or deterrent effect?

I’m not sure that the level of education has much role to play in the decision to migrate out of Africa. However it is known that there are more lowly educated African immigrants in the

www.iday.org

What should be the priority or priorities to prevent illegal - and often deadly migrations? Whose responsibility is it to address this issue?

Such measures only increase the level of risks that migrating Africans are taking as we could see with Yaguine and Fodé but also with thousand others who have perished at sea or died in the Sahara desert trying to cross to Europe. European lawmakers, who believe in the ideal of a shared humanity should stand up against such draconian laws because in the long-term, they are not effective and in the short term their deadly effects are evident.

Much as it may be unwise to make a case for an open border approach, a clearer and more humane migration policy is urgently needed. Measures such as the one recently announced by the European Union to financially support African governments with about 2 billion euros to address the root causes of migration are good but not robust enough. Individual countries of the EU should follow the example of Spain and make available some matching funds. I also believe that the time has come for a reduction in bilateral support and increase in indirect development assistance, that is financing of nongovernmental organisations who are known to be tackling developmental challenges very effectively in Africa. One example is the deployment of development assistance. I am of the strong view that NGOs should be engaged to carry out thorough needs analyses to determine precisely where funds should be channeled more effectively before disbursements of ODA are made.

IDAY p. 7 / Winter 2015

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LET’S ACT TOGETHER TO ACHIEVE EDUCATION FOR THE AFRICAN YOUTH!

DAY is a network composed by 570 civil society organizations in 19 African countries and working to ensure access to quality basic education for all children and youth in Africa.

The network initiates collective actions to encourage constructive dialogue and cooperation between citizens and their authorities.

Concretely, it means advocacy actions, regional campaigns (on domestic workers, minors in prison, school gardens with Artemisia Annua) and local initiatives responding to real needs and with sustainable impact.

We absolutely need your help to pursue these efforts in education.

You can make a difference:

✴ With a single donation: (20€, 50€, 100€ or more*), an annual donation or a monthly standing order;

✴ By suggesting an act of solidarity to/with your friends and family; ✴ By helping us during a campaign or for a periode of time according to your availability; ✴By improving our visibility, for example by subscribing to IDAY Facebook page and spreading our messages.

Do not hesitate to contact the IDAY Team for more information on our activities and to contribute to our actions.

With your help and generosity, we will be able to support the education of more than 260,000 children and youth in Africa.

Jean-Jacques Schul Chairman

EVERY CHILDREN HAVE THE RIGHT TO ACCESS QUALITY BASIC EDUCATION. IDAY EXISTS BECAUSE TOO MANY OF THEM ARE STILL DEPRIVED OF IT. www.iday.org

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