EI Africa DC Café Highlights Cooperation Priorities and Strategic Alignment for 2026
Education International Africa (EI Africa) has reaffirmed the importance of aligning development cooperation and capacity building programmes with Education International’s operational and strategic priorities for 2026, following a regional Development Cooperation (DC) Café held online on Tuesday 3 February 2026.
Opening the meeting, EI Africa Regional Director, Dr. Dennis Sinyolo, highlighted what he described as five key union imperatives: advocacy and policy influence; defending the rights and wellbeing of educators and learners; evidence-based research; continuous renewal through leadership development; and effective organisation and mobilisation. based research; continuous renewal through leadership development; and effective organisation and mobilisation.
He enforced that for unions in Africa to be formidable, they must commit to playing an integral role in education and teacher policy formulation. In doing this, he encouraged teacher unions to continually engage in research and professional development that will inform their ability to place demands before the government, in the bid to fight for their members’ rights and wellbeing, and those of their students. He emphasised the need to focus on education support personnel, women and young educators who may not be given the needed attention.
Throughout the DC Café, participants shared updates on a wide range of cooperation initiatives implemented in partnership with national unions and international partners. These included programmes focused on gender equality and women’s leadership, youth participation, professional development, union renewal, research and advocacy, early childhood education, education financing, and campaigns against privatisation and commercialisation of education, such as the Go Public! Fund Education campaign.
The meeting also highlighted the value of regional and subregional networks, such as the African Women in Education Network (AWEN) and the Africa Young Educators Network (AYEN), in advancing union renewal and leadership development. These initiatives were recognised as key platforms for building capacity at grassroots level while reinforcing EI Africa’s broader strategic objectives.
In concluding the session, Dr. Sinyolo reiterated EI Africa’s commitment to working closely with development cooperation partners to ensure greater complementarity, unity and strategic coherence in programme implementation.
The DC Café reaffirmed a shared commitment to aligning cooperation priorities with EI’s strategic plan, strengthening union capacity across the continent, and ensuring that development programmes contribute effectively to unity, sustainability and impact in the education sector.