Ashoka’s Changemakers has today launched two parallel competitions in search of the most innovative solutions in the education and rural development sectors across Africa. At a press conference held at national theater in Kampala Uganda, they have announced Uganda as one of the focus countries from which they seek to find and reward the most innovative solutions in these two sectors.
The competitions are open to any individual, group or organization in any sector with prize money of up to UGX 10.5 million for each of the three winners in each category. Prize money for a total of 6 winners from both competitions is a staggering UGX 63 million.
The search for the most innovative teachers, administrators and education organizations in Africa in a competition dubbed, “Champions of Quality Education in Africa” is funded by the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation. In this competition, they will look to schools, professional networks, and organizations to find promising practices that improve learning at the local, district, and national levels.
“We believe that there is significant local innovation in education in Africa, in both public and private schools,” said Smita Singh, Director of the Global Development Program of the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation. “We’re launching this collaborative competition together with Ashoka’s Changemakers in an effort to reach education innovators, the ones with a gleam in their eye, who we and others might otherwise never get to know.”
On a parallel front, Ashoka’s Changemakers has launched another competition called “Cultivating Innovation: Solutions for Rural Communities” in Uganda. Funded as part of a grant awarded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, this competition seeks to find the most innovative solutions in farming and rural development in Sub-Saharan Africa and India. The competition is open to anyone or any organization striving to stimulate rural and agricultural development.
Today, three quarters of the world’s poorest people—the 1 billion who live on $1 a day or less—live in rural areas, and most rely on agriculture for their food and income. Many small farmers cannot grow enough food to sell or feed their families.
Innovative solutions like the ones Ashoka’s Changemakers is seeking offer hundreds of millions of people the opportunity to overcome hunger and poverty. Those that do not rely on agriculture are not receiving the necessary adequate education to improve their lives through other means. “We know that young people who master the fundamentals of education are more likely to succeed in school and continue education beyond their primary years, live longer, be healthier and, ultimately, be more prosperous. Our competition will promote those doing great work and give them the ability to scale their projects and affect more lives for the greater good,” remarked Changemakers’ executive director, Charlie Brown.