Education should be accessible to everyone who yearns for it, but the reality is that a large percentage of the world has not been able to realize this for its people. Global efforts must be made in order to rectify the huge disparity in education systems, especially for the youth. Africa has the largest population of youth across all the continents – known as a youth bulge – which means it holds so much untouched human potential. Thankfully, education comes in many forms: it is not confined to traditional classroom environments, and it is not only provided by qualified professionals. Education can come even from the simplest of acts that allow the propagation of information or skills – for curiosity to be engaged and knowledge to be cultivated. Honoris has formal institutions in their network which offer leading education curricula for their students; but what these institutions also do is focus on their immediate communities and lend a helping hand. Every initiative under the Honoris umbrella is either as a source or an extension of education which serves to close a gap that has been identified in the institutions’ relative communities
MANCOSA Million Books Project
In recognition of World Book Day on 23 April, MANCOSA renewed its pledge to donate a million books to promote the enjoyment of reading among children, especially in poor communities.
Professor Magnate Ntombela, newly appointed as principal of MANCOSA following the untimely passing of philanthropist and eminent educationist, Professor Yusuf Karodia, said he would promote the “Million Books Campaign” initiated by his predecessor with even greater zeal and determination.
The late Professor Karodia, founder of MANCOSA, was a strong believer that reading is an essential ingredient for children to improve their literacy, further their education, and to brighten their future.
Through the Yusuf Karodia Foundation, he launched the “Million Books Project” which aims to provide more than a million books to school children across South Africa through mobile libraries.
“Research has shown that access to libraries improves learner performance and increases their chances of success. A literate educated society is a safer, healthier, and more prosperous society. Sadly, hundreds of schools lack libraries,” said the Late Professor Karodia.
Since its inception in February 2018, the MANCOSA “reading revolution” has touched more than two million pupils in 55 schools across the country. To date 60 000 books have been donated in 167 mobile libraries.
Nile University of Nigeria: Abuja Global Shapers Community
Nile University of Nigeria in collaboration with the Abuja Global Shapers Community (Abuja GSC) recently commenced a mentoring program for the University’s students. The Abuja GSC is a global organization with over 400 hubs worldwide which provides an avenue for top professionals in various sectors of Nigeria to come together to tackle pressing issues in the country.
The mentorship program was created to nurture and encourage talented young Nigerian students who are committed to shaping their communities. Mentees are taught various business concepts and strategies, as well as employability attitudes to help develop their entrepreneurial and leadership skills. During the program, Abuja GSC’s professionals are assigned to Nile students to provide them with vital knowledge and support in order to boost their employability.
Le Wagon Morocco Partnership with Frenchtech
Le Wagon and French Tech joined forces to promote the role of youth in tech for impact.
Since 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic has been disrupting lives around the world, imposing a new reality where the way we work, learn, consume, and interact has significantly changed.
With this in mind, the #HackTonFutur competition invited middle and high school students from Morocco to offer viable and concrete technological solutions to contribute to the sustainable development of health care and education.
The French Tech Morocco is a community of entrepreneurs or intrapreneurs of Tech, based in Morocco and part of the World Community: The French Tech. French Tech Maroc and Le Wagon joined forces to offer participants of the #HackTonFutur competition a workshop on the topic of Application Prototyping.
Le Wagon Morocco gave two workshops to the participants of #HackTonFutur in order to help the students build a prototype of their application. The workshop was attended by 49 students from six different high schools. The workshops were based on a Sprint to define and prototype the MVP of a web or mobile application.
Key outcomes included participants being able to define the target users of their application and what differentiate their offering. They learnt how to build an interactive mockup with Figma to test their design with real users.
REGENT Business School innovative way to Address Unemployment, the MAHALABox
With record-high unemployment levels and expensive data costs creating a barrier to entry for many job seekers, South Africans need new ways to bring opportunities to people and to connect them with potential employers. A group of public-spirited researchers at REGENT Business School’s iLeadLab facility has developed a practical and innovative solution: the MAHALABox.
"Mahala" means "free" in isiZulu, and the MAHALABox lives up to its name. It provides free access to online resources such as recruitment agencies, job placements, and skills development tools like aptitude tests, CV templates, and downloadable books and videos. All that is needed is a smartphone – no data or internet access is required.
Here’s how it works:
- Each MAHALABox contains a small computer. Employers, recruitment agencies, corporate entities, government departments, and tertiary education institutions can create content that is housed on the MAHALABox network.
- The MAHALABox uses sustainable solar energy.
- The MAHALABox can be adapted to specific locations – community centers, gyms, municipal gatherings… – and can become an access point for communities.
Red & Yellow: Learn to Earn
Learn to Earn is a skills development and job creation organization, primarily targeting unemployed people. Their aim is to eradicate unemployment and other legacies of injustice in South Africa. Since 1989, Learn to Earn has trained more than 13 583 unemployed people with market-related skills. Their skills development and training centers are based in the vibrant Khayelitsha and the seaside town of Hermanus.
For the past few years, R&Y has been involved with Learn to Earn students on the Graphic Design Bridging Course. Lecturers regularly host creative workshops for these talented young people, some of whom are awarded bursaries to study further at R&Y. Many are able to use their skills immediately to start a small business or gain employment. The R&Y coffee shop is hosted by Learn to Earn barista students.
The photographs below were taken of students who attended a photography lighting workshop hosted by R&Y photography lecturer, Nobukho Nqaba.
Université Centrale of Tunisia assists Primary School in Kram
Just a few days after an incident occurred at the Habib Bourguiba School in Kram, where part of the roof of a classroom collapsed, some 550 students were able to return to school.
This was made possible by the joint efforts of civil society, the collaboration of the authorities, the members of the association ‘moghayroun of Kram’, and UNIVERSITÉ CENTRALE.
UNIVERSITÉ CENTRALE, a member of the Honoris United Universities group, has proven its unwavering commitment to participate in the development of the education of future generations in Tunisia by providing young students with a building in its engineering department where schoolteachers can resume with the academic program.
The Minister of National Education in Tunisia, Mr. Fethi Sellaouti, thanked all the parties "who have contributed to the success of this initiative, in particular the UNIVERSITÉ CENTRALE, which has demonstrated its concern to ensure the progress of the educational process, whether in private or public education."