Phase Three of Teach Africa is a daylong Africa-immersion Youth Forum for middle and high school students. Students have a chance to learn from and interact with international experts in a variety of workshops. Previous workshops have covered: U.S. – Africa Relations, Business in Africa, Health in South Africa, Taking Action in Darfur, Women and Children in Conflict, as well as cultural workshops addressing topics like African Pop Music, African Literature, and Lessons in Kiswahili.
The first ever Youth Forum took place at the Department of State in 2004 with 1,200 public and private school students from the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area. Former Secretary of State, Colin Powell, opened this Forum with a speech in which he challenged young people to seize the opportunity to become more enlightened. Other distinguished speakers were Florizelle Liser, Assistant United States Trade Representative for Africa; His Excellency Lapologang Caesar Lekoa, Ambassador from Botswana to the U.S.; and Linda Thomas-Greenfield, former Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary in the Bureau for African Affairs and newly appointed U.S. Ambassador to Liberia.
Teach Africa is an innovative and essential program. It addresses the lack of Africa education in American curricula by providing both young people and their educators with a better understanding of Africa and its role in the global community. Our goal is to continue to expand this program to cities across the United States so as to continue to empower and prepare today’s youth to be our future global leaders.