Advancing Girls' and Women's Education through Knowledge Sharing at PANCOGEd2

From 2–4 July 2026, the GPE KIX Africa 19 Hub, through the UNESCO International Institute for Capacity Building in Africa (IICBA), actively contributed to the Second African Union Pan-African Conference on Girls' and Women's Education (PANCOGEd2) in Bujumbura, Burundi. Held under the theme "Prioritizing Girls' and Women's Education: Developing Their Skills and Accelerating Learning and Training Opportunities," the conference convened over 300 policymakers, researchers, professionals, development partners, and young leaders to exchange evidence, experiences, and innovative solutions for advancing girls' and women's education across Africa.

Working in close collaboration with the GPE KIX Africa 21 Hub, the GPE KIX Africa 19 Hub organized two side events that promoted knowledge exchange, peer learning, and evidence-informed policy dialogue on key priorities for gender equality in education.

The first side event focused on gender-responsive teacher professional development in Africa and highlighted the importance of strengthening teacher capacity for creating inclusive and equitable learning environments for girls. During the discussions, teams representing the governments of Senegal, Nigeria, and Malawi shared their country experiences as well as their policies, strategic frameworks, planning and implementation approaches, and promising initiatives for institutionalizing gender-responsive teacher development within their education systems. The Senegalese delegation also shared its experience in improving girls' access to education, highlighting the peer learning visit by the Comoros organized through the GPE KIX Africa 21 Hub to facilitate the exchange of promising practices and innovations.

The session also marked the launch of the Compendium of Resources on Gender-Responsive Teacher Development in Africa, jointly developed by UNESCO IICBA and VVOB in collaboration with AU/CIEFFA, FAWE, and other partners. Designed as a collaborative and living resource, the Compendium brings together practical tools, policy guidance, and evidence to strengthen gender-responsive teacher development across Africa.

The second side event, in collaboration with the Teach for All network in Africa, explored strategies to increase girls' participation in technical and vocational education and training (TVET) and science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education, emphasizing that expanding opportunities for girls requires both strong political commitment and effective implementation. Drawing on the African Union's STEM and TVET strategies, alongside Burundi's National STEM Strategy and Nigeria's TVET Policy, speakers highlighted the importance of enabling policy frameworks, clear national priorities, and sustained investment to advance gender equality in STEM and TVET. Country experiences from Burundi and Nigeria further demonstrated that policies achieve meaningful impact only when translated into classroom practice. For example, Nigeria's Learning, Uniting, Modernising, Innovating, Nurturing, Accelerating, and Harmonising (LUMINAH) initiative demonstrated that increasing girls' STEM participation requires coordinated interventions integrating accelerated learning, teacher support, mentorship, and community engagement.

The conference also featured several high-level roundtables and plenary sessions on gender, equity, and inclusion, highlighting the importance of integrating girls' education and inclusive education within broader education system reforms. During the discussions, Uganda shared its national experience in improving access to quality education for children with special needs through sustainable teacher capacity-building programmes, strengthened inclusive education policies, and investments in assistive technologies, specialized equipment, and accessible learning environments. 

Together, the GPE KIX Africa 19 and Africa 21 Hubs highlighted the key role played by knowledge mobilization, peer learning, and evidence-informed dialogue to accelerate educational transformation across Africa, reaffirming their commitment to strengthening teacher development, advancing inclusive and gender-responsive education, and supporting evidence-informed policymaking.