Message from the Executive Director of CAFOR, Lawalley Cole, for January 2019

2019 has had a perfect start for CAFOR with the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between the African Union and CAFOR. 2018 was indeed a very eventful, productive and successful year for the new organization, giving the space to begin 2019 on a new platform with challenges that need to be addressed adequately during the year. Through the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the African Union, the two parties CAFOR and the African Union will work together to enhance the integration of global and continental policy agendas. These include the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), Agenda 2063, the Science, Technology and Innovations Strategy for Africa (STISA 2024), the Continental Education Strategy for Africa (CESA 16-25), and the Continental Strategy for Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) into country-level developmental and sectoral strategies for the development of the African continent. The MOU will, therefore, enhance dialogue on policy issues as recommended by the African Union through these African Union policy agendas, and promote a shared understanding of the problems in educational reforms for youth participation in their respective national labor force. They will also help build commitment and ownership of the changes.

CAFOR will, therefore, work very closely with its principal ally, the Department of Human Resources, Science and Technology of the African Union Commission to ensure a fruitful and viable partnership where we also work with other organizations and entities in the African continent and beyond to ensure the implementation of this MOU in a coherent and consistent manner. As we all face enormous challenges in this drive, we must take cognizance of the persistent gap between what we have committed ourselves to do and the realities on the ground. We must be mindful of the measures we need to take at all times to curb these limitations. In this respect, we should ensure that the educational opportunities provided are genuinely empowering, especially for young Africans.

We must therefore constantly and consciously emphasize quality education that would also focus on the humanistic mission of education. As AU Commissioner Prof. Sarah Anyang Agbor said at the signing of the MOU on 18 January 2019 in the presence of the Deputy Chairperson of the African Union Commission and the Chairperson of CAFOR: “African stakeholders need more information so that they can own their homegrown vision and strategic policy frameworks, and they need opportunities for open engagement so that they can contribute to the essential processes. In particular, information has to be tailored for youthful populations, and for women whose participation in education and training opportunities especially in STEM-based fields must be strengthened” This, necessarily, is the quality we refer to!

As we have always indicated, CAFOR is ever committed to ensuring that it operates and manage initiatives with the African Union and other partners and entities on the continent to make sure that programming in advocacy and partnership mobilization for youths aligns well with the vision that young people in Africa have for their future. We must understand their real needs and what they have always longed for in Africa. We must be in an excellent position to be also able to tap into their energy and dynamism. All of this is what can contribute to the quality issues we are talking about here.

I take this opportunity, on behalf of the Chairperson of CAFOR Prof. Kate Adoo-Adeku, to first welcome the new members of the CAFOR Executive Board. The organization is particularly honored to have Her Excellency Prof. Sarah Anyang Agbor, the Commissioner for Human Resources, Science and Technology at the African Union Commission as its latest Executive Board member. We also welcome Dr. Olubunmi Owoso from Nigeria who was the Secretary-General of the Commonwealth Association of Technical Universities and Polytechnics in Africa (CAPA), and even a former Rector of Yaba College of Technology, Lagos, Nigeria. Dr. Beatrice Njenga who is presently the Head of the Education Division within the Department of Human Resources, Science and Technology at the African Union Commission is also a new Executive Board member. Welcome to you all and wishing you a very fruitful tenure of office!
CAFOR has also grown recently in membership, and I also take this opportunity on behalf of the Chairperson of CAFOR to welcome new members from Tanzania, Benin, Kenya, Nigeria, The Gambia, Burundi, South Africa, and Ethiopia. We also have a new staff member in the Secretariat. He is Mr. Tshimanga Mukadi-Mutoke, our Senior Advisor. He is from the Democratic Republic of Congo.
CAFOR will enhance its partnership with African based organizations in 2019 and looks forward to the continued support of its partners and stakeholders as we continue to make a move to higher levels in our flight towards the Africa we all want.