A competition offering a top prize of $10,000, and with 50 prizes of $1,000 for the most entrepreneurial education programs in every African country, was launched this week by UK based education charity Teach A Man To Fish.

The EDUCATING AFRICA Pan-African Awards for Entrepreneurship in Education 2008 seek to identify the very best organizations rising to the challenges of supporting education across Africa, to highlight their models, and to reward their achievements.

According to Nik Kafka, Managing Director, Teach A Man To Fish, "If the huge demand for education that exists across Africa is to be met, it will require new and entrepreneurial models which can be replicated and taken to scale. Education programs which are innovative, sustainable and create real impact already exist in Africa. All too often, however, they never receive the true recognition they deserve, and remain isolated efforts.”

The EDUCATING AFRICA Pan-African Awards for Entrepreneurship in Education 2008 thus represents a small step forward in terms of drawing international attention to their achievements, and rewarding their commitment.

Entry Criteria

1. This competition is open to organisations working in Africa at all levels of education, from primary through to tertiary, as well as in non-formal education.

2. Entrants will need to describe in 1000 words or less the key achievements of their program against the assessment criteria and their contribution to education in Africa.

3. Entries can be submitted online, via email, or by post, but must use the official competition entry form available at http://www.teachamantofish.org.uk/competition

Entries will be assessed against three criteria of entrepreneurship, sustainability, and impact, and must be received before the competition closing date of October 20th 2008.

Winners will be selected by a panel of international judges, and the top three awardees sponsored to travel to South Africa to receive their prizes at Education That Pays For Itself 2008, an international conference on Sustainable Education taking place 18th -20th November 2008.

Organizations wishing to take part should visit the competition website - www.teachamantofish.org.uk/competition  for full details on how to enter.

Contact

For media enquiries contact Nik Kafka, email: nik.kafka@teachamantofish.org.uk

Tel: +44 7890 420205

About the competition organizers

The competition is sponsored by Educating Africa (an African-based foundation supporting education work across the continent) and run by Teach A Man To Fish (an international education charity based in the UK.) Educating Africa is committed to introducing cost effective and sensible education initiatives throughout Africa, and to acknowledging some of the tremendous educational projects that have been developed across the continent. For more information visit http://www.educatingafrica.com/ 

TeachAManToFish is an international non-profit organization working to improve the relevancy, quality, and availability of education in developing countries. The organisation uses profit-making school-run businesses to teach entrepreneurship and livelihood skills. This model allows schools to generate additional income, improving their financial sustainability, while at the same time enabling them to offer a more relevant and higher quality education.  For more information visit http://www.teachamantofish.org.uk/

There are superb educational ideas, generous benefactors and intellectual capital that is willing and able to be invested in worthwhile educational projects. However, often there is a mismatch in linking the various groups. Educating Africa seeks to bridge this gap and match up these groups.

Jim Stephenson

Programmes Manager, Teach A Man To Fish jim.stephenson@teachamantofish.org.uk

+447828189518

skype: jim.stephenson1

Interested In Our Education That Pays For Itself Conference 2008?  - find out more at  http://www.teachamantofish.org.uk/conference/index.php

"Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day. Teach him how to fish and he will eat for a lifetime."  - Chinese Proverb

Teach a Man to Fish is a UK registered charity no. 1112699