FutureLife-Now! Newsletter: Edition 12, 2023

Welcome to the 12th in a series of FutureLife-Now! newsletters, designed to share information, good practices and lessons learnt related to the education, health and development of young people in the SADC Region. Whether you are a young person, a teacher, a health worker, a parent or caregiver, or policy maker, we hope that you will find this enjoyable and useful reading.

 

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  • Youth empowerment initiatives launched in South Africa || The DBE introduces FutureLife-Now! and the Ubuntu Youth Leadership Movement

    Youth empowerment initiatives launched in South Africa || The DBE introduces FutureLife-Now! and the Ubuntu Youth Leadership Movement

    South Africa’s Department of Basic Education (DBE), in partnership with MIET AFRICA, UNICEF South Africa and the National Education Collaboration Trust (NECT), recently launched two youth empowerment initiatives in Pretoria. These two programmes—the Southern African Development Community (SADC) FutureLife-Now! Programme and the Ubuntu Youth Leaders Movement—contribute to the Department’s Care and Support for Teaching and Learning (CSTL) Framework and the SADC Child and Youth Agency Framework (CYAF). Following a successful first phase (2019–23) implemented in Lesotho, Malawi, Zambia and Zimbabwe, South Africa now joins the second phase of FutureLife-Now! (2023–26), which sees a scale-up of FutureLife-Now! …
  • Ubuntu kicks off in Zimbabwe || Piloting the Ubuntu Youth Leaders’ Programme in Zimbabwe

    Ubuntu kicks off in Zimbabwe || Piloting the Ubuntu Youth Leaders’ Programme in Zimbabwe

    The first phase of FutureLife-Now! is drawing to an end. Phase 2, which will commence in July this year, will build on the youth agency and leadership work commenced in Phase 1. Phase 2 will introduce new and innovative interventions in the 10 schools in Zimbabwe; these will be scaled up over time to the additional 30 schools to be added to the programme. One of the new elements that aims to develop youth leadership for service among young people in our communities is the Ubuntu Youth Leaders’ Programme, run in partnership with Instituto Padre António …
  • Time to break the silence || Demystifying myths and misconceptions in Zambia about sexuality education

    Time to break the silence || Demystifying myths and misconceptions in Zambia about sexuality education

    In Zambia, sexual and reproductive health topics are seldom discussed in family settings. Speaking openly about sexuality and sexual relationships is considered taboo in most Zambian communities. As a result, family members and teachers rarely have conversations on these topics, leading to low levels of knowledge about HIV and certain aspects of sexuality. With this in mind, the FutureLife-Now! Programme in Zambia held a comprehensive sexuality education (CSE) workshop in April 2023 at David Ramushu Secondary School. The event was attended by 37 stakeholders, ranging from teachers, parents, councillors, nurses and district officials to youth facilitators. …
  • Lesotho celebrates School Health and Nutrition Day || FutureLife-Now! helps to commemorate a special day

    Lesotho celebrates School Health and Nutrition Day || FutureLife-Now! helps to commemorate a special day

    Three School Health and Nutrition days are scheduled annually on the Ministry of Education and Training (MoET) school calendar (in 2023, these are 3 March, 19 May and 22 September). They are intended to highlight the collaboration and linkages needed between the MoET and MoH as directed by Lesotho’s School Health and Nutrition Policy of 2018, because the promotion of the health of learners in schools is a critical step towards quality achievement in education. On 3 March, to celebrate this relationship, a School Health and Nutrition Day was conducted by the MoET, in collaboration with …
  • CSTL bears fruit in Malawi || Umbwi Secondary School reaps the reward of the CSTL School Community Workshops

    CSTL bears fruit in Malawi || Umbwi Secondary School reaps the reward of the CSTL School Community Workshops

    Addressing barriers to teaching and learning needs a holistic approach and is everyone’s responsibility. With this in mind, between January and November 2022, the FutureLife-Now! Programme in Malawi ran Care and Support for Teaching and Learning (CSTL) School Community Workshops in its 10 pilot schools. These were aimed at improving education outcomes by bringing together all key stakeholders (teachers and other educators, those in management structures, parents, community leaders, health workers, child protection workers, forestry assistants, agriculture officers, police officers) to develop their knowledge, capacity and commitment to addressing barriers to teaching and learning. Schools are …