ADEA - Association for the Development of Education in Africa

🧸📚 Some booths hand out brochures. This one built a classroom.

At , UNICEF Malawi's booth brought the mission to life — recreating the kind of learning environment every child deserves. On one side, an early childhood space filled with play materials, toys, and books designed to stimulate young minds. On the other, an early-grade classroom setup complete with school bags, textbooks, and learning materials.

As UNICEF Africa's Joy Miller explained, it was a deliberate choice – to put children at the center of the conversation, short of having them physically in the room.

Because foundational literacy and numeracy aren't abstract goals. They happen when a child has the right environment, the right materials, and a good teacher, all working together.



Wuod Othim | Gates Foundation | What Works Hub for Global Education | VVOB - education for development | Ministère de l'Éducation Nationale et de l'Enseignement Technique | Inyang Umoren | Ministry of Education- Zambia

🇮🇳🌍 What happens in New Delhi doesn't stay in New Delhi.

In May this year, six African nations — Rwanda, Ghana, Kenya, Tanzania, Nigeria, and South Africa — travelled to India with ADEA's support, working alongside the British Council and India's Ministry of Education to learn how data and evidence can drive better foundational learning outcomes.

As Nikunj Agarwal of the British Council India shared at FLEX2026, the exchange surfaced something important: as the Global South, our countries face shared challenges around data and evidence — but we also hold real solutions for one another.

The commitment coming out of that exchange was clear: keep this dialogue alive. Bring it into forums like FLEX2026 and initiatives like ESDC, so the learning keeps compounding rather than ending with a single trip.

This is South-South cooperation, done right — for Asia, for Africa, and for children everywhere.



Central Square Foundation | Wuod Othim | Gates Foundation | What Works Hub for Global Education | National Council of Educational Research and Training - NCERT | Ministry of Education, Rwanda | Department of Basic Education South Africa | Siviwe Gwarube MP | Ministry of Education, Arts and Culture - Namibia | Wizara ya Afya Tanzania

🇳🇬 Real results from Yobe State, Nigeria — shared at FLEX2026.

The Commissioner for Basic and Secondary Education in Yobe State came to Lilongwe with a success story: through the Kanuri Arithmetic and Reading Initiative (KARI), children are being taught in their mother tongue — and it's working. Pupils understand concepts more deeply, and they're more engaged and willing to participate in class.

His reflection from the conference was simple but powerful: teaching in the language a child understands is the most effective way to reach them at the early grade level. And just as important as the method itself is the funding to keep programmes like this alive and growing.

This is exactly the kind of country-to-country exchange FLEX2026 exists to create.



Yobe State Commissioner Of Basic And Secondary Education | Mai Mala Buni | Wuod Othim | UNICEF Africa | UNICEF Nigeria | Gates Foundation | What Works Hub for Global Education | Global Partnership for Education | Inyang Umoren

🇸🇿 Straight talk from FLEX2026.

Hon. Owen Nxumalo, Minister of Education, Eswatini, shared a hard truth shaping his country's next steps: many children in the lower grades cannot yet read or write basic text in their own mother tongue.

His answer is practical — group learners according to their ability, teach them at the level they're actually at, and invest in equipping teachers to deliver that instruction well.

This is what is about: ministers naming the real challenges and committing to real solutions.



Wuod Othim | Gates Foundation | UNICEF Africa | VVOB - education for development | What Works Hub for Global Education | Inyang Umoren | Aloïse Prosper Faye | Global Partnership for Education | Zelalem Wondimu

Some of the most powerful moments of didn't happen at the convention centre. They happened in classrooms. 🏫🌍

On Day 3, ministers and delegates stepped away from the sessions and into schools across Lilongwe — meeting the teachers and children that every policy discussion, every data point, and every commitment made at FLEX ultimately exists to serve.

This is what foundational learning looks like, up close.

Watch the school visits. 👇



UNICEF Africa | Wuod Othim | Gates Foundation | Ministère de l'Education Nationale et de l'Alphabétisation Guinée | Ministry of Education, Arts and Culture - Namibia | MINISTRY OF BASIC EDUCATION, BOTSWANA | Aloïse Prosper Faye | The Kenya National Examinations Council | VVOB - education for development | Ministry of Education- Zambia | What Works Hub for Global Education | Hakainde Hichilema | Inyang Umoren | Ministère de l'Education nationale du Sénégal | Ministry of Education, Rwanda | African Centre for School Leadership | Ministry of Education and Sports Uganda |