Recently released as a continuation of the Millions Learning project, the new Millions Learning case studies provide an in-depth look at 12 of the programs and policies explored in the report. Educate!'s case study highlights the most important lessons learned from the Brookings Institution's exploration of our organization. Specifically, Educate! is noted for our strategy of designing for massive scale from the start, our deep commitment to rigorous monitoring and evaluation, and our high-level partnerships with Ministries of Education to reform entire education systems. 

Educate! is featured in a new industry-defining report from the Brookings Center for Universal Education. Millions Learning seeks to understand the crucial factors driving major improvements in educational outcomes around the world, distilling lessons learned from case studies of Educate!, Pratham, Room to Read, Sesame Workshop, and other leading organizations. The Millions Learning project specifically focuses on education innovations that can be implemented efficiently, effectively, and sustainably on a large scale. Out of over 100 potential cases, Educate! was chosen as one of only 14 solutions to become a detailed case study for the Millions Learning report.

Educate!'s team in Makindye, Uganda shared this poem with their teammates on International Women's Day:

This month, Educate!’s Director of Policy and Partnerships, Maggie Appleton, is attending the 60th Annual Comparative and International Education Society (CIES) Conference. The CIES conference is the premier global education event, focusing on fostering cross-cultural understanding, scholarship, academic achievement, and societal development to address education policy and implementation issues in developing countries.

An important report from Solutions for Youth Employment (S4YE) details how the odds are stacked against youth around the world, and includes several mentions of Educate!'s proven solution!

Did you know that in the next 10 years over 1 billion young people will enter the global job market? There are a record number of young people alive today—nearly 1.8 billion – and 85 percent of these young people live in developing and emerging economies and fragile states. Nearly one third of these young people are not in school, employment, or training.

We are excited to share that Educate! was selected as one of the Global Innovation Fund’s inaugural investments.

The Global Innovation Fund (GIF) is a new fund backed by the US Agency for International Development, the United Kingdom's Department for International Development, Omidyar Network and other industry leaders. Educate! was one of only eight organizations selected out of over 2,000 applications as an inaugural investment.

All my life, I had admired accountants and wished to be like them one day. But after graduating from high school, I had lost hope that I could go to university to continue with my studies because I couldn’t pay the school fees. My dad told me he could not manage to pay millions of shillings every semester. Despite this, I was determined to achieve my dream, so I searched for a job that would allow me to save for university. I believed that with education I could move mountains.

Next month, Educate! will launch our program expansion in Northern Uganda. This post-conflict area is the most impoverished region of Uganda – the poverty rate, at 43.7%, is nearly twice as high as the next-poorest region of Uganda, and more than two times the national average. After 23 years of conflict, two million people in Northern Uganda were uprooted from their homes and over 20,000 youth were abducted.

In honor of Educate!’s 2015 WISE Awards win, the World Innovation Summit on Education (WISE) produced a short video explaining the program’s model and impact.

Last week, Educate!’s co-founders-- Executive Director Boris Bulayev and Global Director of Programs Angelica Towne-- were in Doha, Qatar accepting the 2015 WISE Award, the pre-eminent global education award.

Educate! is a 2015 WISE Award Winner, and Boris and Angelica had the opportunity to present Educate!’s award-winning model to Summit attendees, as well as participate in a panel on the importance of skills-based education for youth and how to prepare a generation of leaders and entrepreneurs.

When Jane begins to describe her first teaching job at Mbogo High, her whole face lights up. Her love for the girls that she taught and the impact she made on them becomes evident. An all-girls school, Mbogo High served as a platform for Jane to grow into a strong teacher and advocate for female empowerment within the education system.

Here’s some good news: a new Pew Research Center survey has found that people in major Sub-Saharan African nations are feeling more optimistic about the future than many others around the world.

“A median of 60% across the nine countries surveyed say their economy is going to improve in the next 12 months, and 56% believe the next generation will be better off financially than their parents. This is a much higher level of optimism than expressed by many others around the world.”

Stephen Ogwang, an Educate! Mentor and businessman, just oozes charm. With a smile to kill and confidence to spare, he welcomes us into the Police Barracks in Nsambya, Kampala. This is where he’s set up shop; his brightly colored MTN Mobile stand among the uniforms, armed trucks and housing for police personnel. Although it may seem like an unusual place to conduct business, Stephen explains that his location is a part of his carefully-crafted strategic business plan to address a community need.

Educate!’s successful expansion to northern Uganda depends on people who are from the community and for the community. For this reason, Educate! has spent the last several months investing heavily in hiring the management team and staff who will lead our expansion into northern Uganda, all of whom are from the region. They have seen how destructive violence can be, they understand the deep consequences war has on a community, and they can directly relate to the youth they’re working to impact.

We are so excited to share that Educate! has been named a winner of the 2015 WISE Awards. Educate! was one of six cutting edge projects chosen for transforming communities and providing one of the most innovative and effective approaches to a pressing challenge in global education. This award represents a huge accomplishment and validation of Educate!'s mission and impact, as our flagship program-- the Educate! Experience -- was selected by an international panel of education experts.

We’re excited to announce a new partnership with Mission Meats, a young, mission-driven startup that produces grass-fed beef snack sticks without nitrates, gluten, or MSG. As part of its model, Mission Meats commits 10% of its profits to social good organizations. 

Induction is a two week intensive training for Educate!’s passionate field staff (Mentors, Youth Leaders and Program Officers) where they reflect on the successes and challenges of the previous term and prepare for the next. It is a powerful intersection of work and play. “Camp Rules” are posted to the wall and there truly is an overnight camp atmosphere. Staff form Induction families to create a sense of community; they bunk together in the dormitories; they play games together during down time; they form essential bonds between those who are newcomers and those who are exiting the Educate! family, on to bigger and better endeavors. But most importantly, they learn together, challenge one another, and look forward to the next school term together. It’s an exciting environment, a mixture of determination and contagious laughter.

Out of more than 1,400 applicants from around the world, Educate! has been selected by the Epic Foundation as one of the 20 most impactful youth organizations globally.

You may remember a story we shared recently about Educate! Scholar Blessed Grace and her successful rabbit-raising business.