Stories

Balkissa Ario is an outstanding learner. At the age of 50, she travels several times a week on foot or, during floods, on a little wooden boat, about 3 km from her hamlet in the village of Berrah in the commune of Soni Ali Ber (Gao, Mali) with the sole purpose of reaching the REFLECT literacy circle of her community. Thanks to her motivation to participate in the learning circle, Balkissa acquired reading, writing and calculating skills at level 4 (of 5) on the UNESCO LAMP scale. This qualified her in October 2021, for a training session in vegetable production at the commune’s community learning centre located about 30, km from her hamlet. After this training, Balkissa set up a small vegetable garden of about 200 m². She planted various crops (cabbage, onion, beetroot, lettuce, carrots,…

The Seventh International Conference on Adult Education (CONFINTEA VII) closed on 17 June 2022 with the adoption of the Marrakech Framework for Action by the representatives of over 140 countries. Member states committed to transforming the vision of a right to lifelong learning into reality, reaffirming that adult learning and education (ALE) is a key component of this very concept. Moreover, member states undertook to significantly increase the participation of adults in learning and recognized the need for increased financial investment in ALE.

On 20 and 21 June, more than 900 participants, including around 75 international guests, came to Leipzig to be a part of what can be described as Europe’s biggest adult learning and education (ALE) event.

A worldwide increase in crises and violent conflicts can be seen. Countries in the Middle East, Asia and the African continent are affected by conflicts, but more recently so are neighbouring European countries such as Belarus and, with the outbreak of war in February 2022, of course Ukraine. It is not unusual for the Institute for International Cooperation (DVV International) to work in crisis regions. However, work in conflict-affected countries has recently become exceptionally intense and requires a high level of crisis response capacity.

From May to December 2021 – still under the conditions of the Covid-19 pandemic – DVV International supported the online study Analysis of Digitalisation in ALE in Asia: Risks and Challenges for Reaching out to Marginalised Groups. The study targeted 47 stakeholders in three pilot countries from different regions in Asia – Palestine, Tajikistan and Cambodia.

DVV International, in cooperation with the Uganda Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development (MGLSD), conducted an exchange visit in Uganda from 14-18 March 2022. The visit was to facilitate peer learning and experience sharing between Ethiopia, Tanzania and Uganda in ALE programming and service delivery.