Professor Mamokgethi Phakeng, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Cape Town, South
Africa, was this month named the winner of the inaugural Africa Education Medal, launched
this year by T4 Education and HP, in collaboration with Intel and Microsoft.
Professor Phakeng was chosen as the winner from among 10 finalists for the Africa Education Medal from across the continent including H.E. Jakaya Kikwete, former President of Tanzania.
Among the buzz of excitement all across Africa and far beyond, Professor Phakeng was congratulated by none other than Oprah Winfrey.
Professor Phakeng’s story was celebrated in leading media outlets around the world including BBC World, Independent Online, South Africa’s largest news outlet, and other leading newspapers including The Times, The Star in print and The Argus in print; SABC’s pan-African broadcaster Channel Africa; South Africa’s leading morning news show SABC Morning Live; and Cape Talk. It was also covered in Punch, Nigeria’s biggest newspaper, plus other leading Nigerian newspapers the Guardian, Vanguard, This Day, and top business newspaper Business Day as well as MSN. There was coverage in News Ghana, one of Ghana’s biggest news sites; Cameroun24, one of Cameroon’s biggest news sites; iHarare in Zimbabwe; News Trends in Kenya; The Independent Observer in Zambia; and leading pan-African outlets AllAfrica, Africa.com, among many others.
Coverage came in from over 100 news outlets across the US including local affiliates of NBC, FOX, and ABC, as well as Yahoo! News in the UK and New Zealand, and RTL, the leading private broadcaster in Germany.
The Africa Education Medal was founded to recognise the work of those changemakers who
are transforming African education. UNESCO data show sub-Saharan Africa has the highest rates of education exclusion in the world. Over one-fifth of children between the ages of 6 and 11 are out of school, with girls particularly disadvantaged. However, tireless international efforts have seen Africa make great strides in boosting enrolment in the decades leading up to the pandemic. By celebrating the stories of those working every day
to expand upon these vital gains, the Africa Education Medal aims to inspire others to follow
in their footsteps and bring lasting change in African education.