Your gift can help the Africa-America Institute (AAI) create:
- Interactive distance education courses to train thousands of African teachers.
- Short-term courses to train healthcare staff to manage health delivery projects for public and non-governmental organizations.
- Programs that help African universities take the lead in addressing AIDS and other continent-wide challenges.
- Long-term graduate training scholarships for Africans in key development sectors, including education, healthcare and technology.
- Roundtable discussions and online dialogues among Africans, who are at the forefront of shaping national policies on health, education and workforce development in Africa.
- Exchange and training programs for African entrepreneurs to meet with potential partners and suppliers in the U.S.
- Events and congressional seminars, across the US, that increase the awareness of the American public and policymakers of African issues.
Think what we can do for...
Think What We Can Do For… Students and Teachers
African countries striving for economic growth and equitable development know that a strong education system that reaches all citizens is the foundation of a good future. The HIV/AIDS pandemic has also made training a new generation of educators an urgent priority, so that Africa does not lose momentum in this vital area. UNAIDS estimates that already close to 800,000 African schoolchildren have lost their teachers to AIDS in the last decade. At the same time, studies show that math and science training in Africa is inadequate to meet local and global market demands for technically trained workers. That is why the Africa-America Institute has made the training of math and science teachers a priority.
How We Can Do It
We must expand our initiatives on several fronts to extend scarce educational resources and provide solutions that work. AAI is partnering with African and American universities, community organizations and government education agencies. Your support will help AAI to:
- Provide primary and secondary teacher certification, and preservice and in-service math and science training, using modern interactive distance-education methods to educate more teachers quickly and cost-effectively.
- Employ innovative and gender-sensitive math and science teaching methods at primary and secondary school levels.
- Enlarge the pool of teachers by training other African professionals and community members to lead classrooms.
- Design policies and strategies to cope with rising pupil/teacher ratios, high absenteeism rates and the needs of children impacted by AIDS.
- Develop and manage support networks – parent-teacher associations (PTAs), student mentoring programs, etc. to amplify and reinforce classroom learning.
$2,000,000: Train 12,500 math and science teachers using modern interactive distance-education methods.
$1,000,000: Offer training to 7,500 teachers and administrators on successful recruitment, retention and graduation of girls and at-risk students.
$500,000: Prepare 4,000 community leaders with proven expertise and accomplishments to teach students.
$250,000: Sponsor results-oriented education policy analysis, formulation and strategy workshops and roundtables for 2,500 African educators, administrators and policymakers.
$100,000: Equip 2,000 teachers to train other teachers to integrate HIV/AIDS awareness and prevention methodology into school curricula.
$50,000: Provide workshops for 1,000 parents and school administrators to establish and manage PTAs.
$25,000: Send 50 experienced Master Teachers to share teaching techniques with 400 teachers.
$10,000: Sponsor an Africa-based workshop for 100 leading teachers representing each of the continents four sub-regions on current theory and best teaching methods, with emphasis on math and science.
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Think What We Can Do For… Healthcare Managers
Healthcare workers are one of eight occupational groups in Africa with higher than average rates of HIV infection; and African health systems – already in deteriorating condition due to scarce resources – lack critical personnel, including managers who can oversee disease prevention, care and treatment programs. AAI’s continues to work with academic and healthcare organizations in Africa and America to reverse the spread of HIV/AIDS on the continent and to avert future health crises by training healthcare workers able to plan and deliver health care services efficiently, achieving results with limited resources.
How We Can Do It
Your support will help AAI to:
- Administer certificate and short-term courses in such areas as strategic planning, project design and management, budgeting and resource allocation, personnel management, and monitoring and evaluation.
- Facilitate study tours and internships in healthcare delivery management, policy design and implementation.
- Provide advanced degree training in public health.
- Build forums to share best practices and explore obstacles to health intervention programs.
$2,000,000: Train 20,000 healthcare managers in Africa, using modern interactive distance-education methods.
$1,000,000: Create ten new distance-learning courses on healthcare challenges specific to African countries.
$500,000: Underwrite training for 25 healthcare managers in the US for specialized certificate programs.
$250,000: Sponsor professional study tours for 25 African healthcare planners and policymakers to the US focused on improving healthcare management systems.
$100,000: Fund five internships for African health professionals in Africa and the US.
$50,000: Support two African Master's in Public Heath degree candidates studying in the US.
$25,000: Sponsor five Africa-based workshops on best practices in healthcare management.
$10,000: Expand an Africa-based best practices workshop to include American counterparts via video conference.
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Think What We Can Do For… African Universities
As centers of knowledge and training, African universities are among the natural institutional leaders in any continent-wide challenge. That is why African universities are central to AAI’s work. Much of the training that the AAI administers is offered in partnership with African universities through various means, including university-based distance-education learning centers. Among the critical challenges confronting African universities is the HIV/AIDS crisis, which is directly impacting students, teachers and administrative personnel as well as populations in surrounding communities. However because of a lack of resources most African universities are not grappling effectively with the spread of AIDS either within or beyond their campus communities.
How We Can Do It
Your support will help AAI and academic organizations in Africa and America to:
- Create certificate programs at African universities in critical fields including business, technology, health and education.
- Provide faculty and school administrators with the tools and knowledge to assist communities grappling with HIV/AIDS.
- Engage a broad range of university personnel in efforts to expand health educational opportunities by offering training and fellowships to teaching professionals, school administrators, education systems planners and education policymakers.
- Build the capacity of African universities to employ modern distance-learning technologies to expand their access to new knowledge.
$2,000,000: Create certificate programs in key fields in ten universities in five African countries.
$1,000,000: Enable five African universities to design distance-learning modules to expand the reach of their course offerings in education and health management topics.
$500,000: Help five Departments of Education in African universities develop comprehensive strategies to train educators to address the educational needs of children affected by HIV/AIDS.
$250,000: Support three African universities to develop and implement campus policies and curricular reforms that address the HIV/AIDS epidemic.
$100,000: Convene five roundtable discussions on up-to-date and comprehensive strategies in distance learning.
$50,000: Support five faculty fellowships to the US in key areas, including healthcare management, finance, policy, monitoring and evaluation.
$25,000: Provide study tours for five faculty and administrators to other universities to observe
effective HIV/AIDS programs within and outside Africa.
$10,000: Sponsor a video conference with experts from the US on distance-learning methods.
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Think What We Can Do For… Entrepreneurs and Business Managers
In many African countries, small and medium-sized businesses make up more than 90% of all businesses and employ 75% of the workforce. They drive economic growth by creating demand for more and better-skilled workers. AAI’s programs work to help African businesses compete globally by giving entrepreneurs and business managers access to networks of suppliers and potential partners and to the administrative, technological, legal and financial skills they need to grow their businesses. Today’s small and medium-sized businesses will attract the capital to fill tomorrow’s stock markets.
How We Can Do It
Your support will help AAI to:
- Place business managers and small and medium-sized business owners in existing or tailored short-term training programs to improve their capacity to connect with US or other African businesses.
- Create a virtual Corporate Learning Center to provide information and technical assistance and enhance the capacity of African entrepreneurs to take advantage of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) and other trade agreements.
- Create courses that help Africa’s entrepreneurs compete in a global economy, in areas such as marketing and ecommerce, human resources, financial management, strategic planning, and management of international business alliances.
- Facilitate internships, study tours and strategic alliances with potential partners and suppliers who help African enterprises thrive and gain global recognition as viable and attractive business partners.
- Inform the content of trade agreements through forums and analysis
$2,000,000: Prepare 12,500 entrepreneurs to compete in international trade using modern interactive distance-education methods.
$1,000,000: Endow a Corporate Learning Center to collect and disseminate information for African entrepreneurs on US-Africa trade agreements and method.
$500,000: Develop and implement five new interactive distance-education business courses.
$250,000: Conduct five hands-on Africa-based training seminars for businesspeople and policymakers working in African countries engaged in Free Trade Agreements with the US.
$100,000: Sponsor corporate internships in the US and Africa for 20 African entrepreneurs.
$50,000: Develop one pilot business skills development course to be offered to participants in Africa via the Corporate Learning Center web portal.
$25,000: Sponsor intra-regional business study tours in Africa for ten business managers to strengthen business alliances.
$10,000: Underwrite a focus group forum on the effects of AGOA or other trade legislation and agreements on a select African country.
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Think What We Can Do For… U.S.-Africa Educational Outreach and Policy
To formulate good policies that advance both U.S. and African long-term interests, policymakers on both continents need consistent access to one another. Historically, AAI has given US policymakers and news media vital access to trends and issues impacting Africa and the informed perspectives of African opinion leaders—in recent years through AAI’s Africa Thursday Congressional seminar series and through its African Perspectives forums online and in Africa, and in past years through its African-American Dialogues conferences, study tours and the Africa Report magazine, a source of independent, informed and unbiased dialogue and information on Africa. As part of AAI’s Education Outreach and Policy (EOP) programs AAI continues these initiatives with sponsored policy dialogue events and analysis across the U.S. and in Africa.
How We Can Do It
Your support will help AAI to:
- Develop high-level, bipartisan Congressional seminars and study tours to increase American policymakers’ awareness of African issues.
- Sponsor interactive events in various US cities to heighten American knowledge of key African concerns and how US policy impacts the continent.
- Convene African Perspectives and other forums through which Africans can inform and shape US and Western policies toward Africa.
- Convene roundtable discussions and online dialogues and publish analysis on issues of mutual interest to U.S. and African policymakers including HIV/AIDS, education and capacity-building.
$2,000,000: Sponsor ten study tours to African countries by 100 key US policy and business leaders to gain firsthand understanding of African issues such as trade, human capacity development and HIV/AIDS.
$1,000,000: Support the publication of three years of bimonthly issues of the policy magazine Africa Report online and in print.
$500,000: Fund 40 Africa Thursday Congressional seminars over five years.
$250,000: Elicit and convey the opinions of Africans from 50 African Perspectives forums to the halls of Congress and corporate boardrooms.
$100,000: Bring deeper knowledge of African issues to people in five regional cities in the US through Africa & America: Connecting Worlds events.
$50,000: Underwrite two symposia on lessons learned and future directions of US bilateral assistance to
Africa.
$25,000: Fund background research and publication for a US-Africa policy conference.
$10,000: Publish the proceedings of one year of Africa Thursday Congressional seminars.
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