APENF wins 2014 UNESCO Confucius Award on International Literacy Day

Published on Thursday, 2 October 2014

The Association for the Promotion of Non-Formal Education (APENF) is one of the fortunate winners of the prestigious 2014 UNESCO Confucius Award for Literacy. It received the award for its strong involvement in all aspects of non-formal education in Burkina Faso and the West African sub-region.

The award recognized in particular APENF’s program “Empowerment of women living in extreme poverty in Burkina Faso”, which successfully combines traditional literacy training, digital literacy and vocational training. Based on a learner-centered approach, the program identifies learning needs through a participatory process in which community members discuss their concerns and prioritize actions to be included in the curriculum. Classes are held at various times of day, in five local languages, and they cover topics as varied as the fight against malaria, hygiene and sanitation, cultivation of bean fields and management of micro-loans. These measures explain the success of the program and its recognition by UNESCO.

The Association for the Promotion of Non-Formal Education (APENF), which is the host institution of ADEA's Working Group on Non-Formal Education (WGNFE), is a national working group formed in 1997, at ADEA’s recommendation. APENF serves as a national forum that facilitates dialogue between Burkina Faso’s Ministries of Education, civil society organizations and all partners active in the area of literacy and non-formal education.