Jen's Journal

There is a rhythm to the way people walk in Africa. You almost wonder if people can hear a common beat that guides the bounce of each step and is the reason for the bright eyes and warm smiles. What intrigues me most is how welcoming of an atmosphere is created when foreign guests arrive. We are invited to join in experiencing the beat.



Last week I attending the World Economic Forum Africa Summit and Young Global Leaders (YGL) Summit in Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania and was so happy to be back in Africa. While my trip was brief, I was grateful for my experience. On my first day after arriving, I joined a group of YGLs to visit an organization called Dogodogo Centre that was founded 20 years ago to support street youth. My highlight was meeting the students who are part of the Mulimedia Class led by Mr. Lazan Kayombo. They gave an energizing musical and dance performance and following that we had informal discussions about their hopes, dreams and the incredible impact the Dogodogo Centre has had on developing their confidence, skills and talents. I very much hope to include these youth in projects that we develop internationally.



Our Young Global Leaders Summit program was rigorous and filled with sessions related to change, very much inspired by the poem I wrote a few months ago! I had an opportunity to share my poem with the group along with the paintings I have been working on for my Art Show! Here’s the clip:



After sharing the poem I was invited to share our ‘task’ which was for each YGL to draw a visualization or diagram on their personal or organizational Models of Change. Everyone was really inspired, working together in small groups to share their ideas and 150 rough concepts were submitted! I am really looking forward to taking a look at all the brilliance that is pulled together.



Here is the Theory of Change I shared, which our TakingITGlobal team developed last year. I was lucky to have a graphic artist (Aaron Williamson) help to draw it!



The session I personally found most relevant and informative for me was the presentation led by David Bonbright from Keystone Accountability who talked about the critical importance of organizations knowing their Theory of Change. Some of the insightful comments made focused on the importance of thinking about how social change work is measured and evaluated in a way that helps to determine what the predictors are of future consequences. Good intentions just aren’t enough. There is a spectrum of visible and invisible impact and organizations should dig deeper to think about evaluation strategies to be comprehensive and shed light on the full spectrum. For example, everyone should keep a ‘results journal’ and think about how to measure key attributes of things like important relationships. We should routinely ask for feedback and report back on what we learned. The NGO sector is providing a high growth rate in terms of new job creation, and professions need to enhance skills in understanding impact from a systems approach. We were equipped with a few questions to consider with our own work and I look forward to taking it back to our team to improve our own evaluation.



Following the YGL program, I had a role supporting the Global Education Initiative and was the facilitator of a meeting organized by the World Bank that was designed to be a consultation providing input to their 2020 Education Strategy. Many ideas were generated on how to improve primary, secondary and tertiary education. Some that I connected with included the importance of linking ‘theory’ and practice, allowing students to take on internships and projects that allow them to have real experiences to connect what they are learning with life. Other ideas related to how technologies can enhance student learning and engagement. An additional session I was asked to moderate was one in the official program on Higher Education. It was an Ideas Lab session that kicked off with opening remarks from two Ministers (one from South Africa and the other from Tanzania) followed by four short presentations utilizing the pecha kucha model of 15 individual slides with 20 seconds each. After stimulating remarks, break-out groups were formed and the key ideas put forth from working groups focused on the need for educational models to become learner-centric, for cross-sector partnerships to enrich curriculum and for learning to take place beyond the walls of the classroom. Overall, I really enjoyed the sessions!

On our last night together, we enjoyed a lovely Soiree with cultural performances and great local cuisine!