Author Archive
How to communicate your work and achievements to funders
Writing proposals and reports to funders can be one of the most stressful parts of working in the social change sector. To make it less nerve wracking, it can be helpful to remember that funders are just people. Many of them have also worked for non-profit organisations, social movements or government departments, and understand the […]
Tags: Communicating to funders about your work, Tips and resources
Posted on 29 Jan 2018 under Civil Society and Public Innovation, Opportunity 1: Resources and Toolboxes, Strategy 2017.
“Your child is also my child” – becoming part of an “army of adults” reading to children
First published by the Sowetan on 2 June 2016. We often hear about South Africa’s dismal education outcomes and low literacy rates. We have also been hearing that early literacy, reading for joy, and growing up around books can change the life trajectories of individuals and dramatically improve our society. Yet we hear much less […]
Tags: Creative Learners, Early literacy, Funda Leader, Nal'ibali, Reading for enjoyment
Posted on 8 Jun 2016 under Early Childhood Development, From Head & Heart, From Head & Heart: Creative Learners, Opportunity 6: Reflection and Analysis, Reading and Early Literacy Development.
The Karnataka Learning Partnership: what data can do
Imagine: A parent is trying to decide whether to send her child to the preschool at the end of her street, or the one in a nearby neighbourhood. She’s heard the faraway preschool is better, but it also has higher fees, and she’s not quite sure what “better” means. An NGO is planning a […]
Tags: Early literacy Development, Education, India
Posted on 23 Nov 2015 under Civil Society and Public Innovation, Creative Learners, DGMT Points of Interest, Early Childhood Development, Opportunity 1: Resources and Toolboxes, Opportunity 6: Implementation Experience, Reading and Early Literacy Development.
From hub-and-spoke to classroom libraries: lessons from Akshara
India and South Africa could learn a lot from each other, particularly when it comes to education. Both have made great strides with primary school enrolment over the last few decades, but still struggle with the quality of learning outcomes – with a significant proportion of children in upper primary school who essentially cannot read. […]
Tags: Akshara, Creative Learners, Early literacy Development
Posted on 16 Oct 2015 under Early Childhood Development, From Head & Heart, From Head & Heart: Creative Learners, Opportunity 6: Implementation Experience, Reading and Early Literacy Development.
Stories: the heart of a happy childhood
At DGMT, we want all South African children to be able to read, and to love reading. As we work with committed and passionate partners towards this goal, I am often reminded of key moments in my own literacy journey. I don’t remember learning to read, but I remember learning to read silently. I sat […]
Tags: Create Change, Reading; Literacy development
Posted on 2 Sep 2015 under Early Childhood Development, From Head & Heart, From Head & Heart: Creative Learners, Opportunity 6: Reflection and Analysis, Reading and Early Literacy Development.
What does creative learning look like for grown-ups?
Working in the education and non-profit sectors, I’ve been to talks and conferences that fire up my passion – that make me want to leap out of my seat and do something. But I’ve been to at least as many with uninspired content, formats, speakers, or all of the above – gatherings where I wind up […]
Tags: Conferences, Learning events
Posted on 24 Jul 2015 under Civil Society and Public Innovation, From Head & Heart, From Head & Heart: Civil Society, Opportunity 1: Resources and Toolboxes, Strategy 2017.
Finding the courage to fail: reflections from the Eastern Cape
What can you do if you leave school unable to lift your head, look someone in the eye, and speak your mind? It’s a question we grappled with last week, as we watched more than 100 Grade 10 learners stammer out simple poems they’d written in English, terrified of making a mistake. I was with the […]
Tags: Creative Learners, Writing Workshops for high school learners
Posted on 24 Feb 2015 under Early Childhood Development, From Head & Heart, From Head & Heart: Creative Learners, Opportunity 6: Reflection and Analysis, Reading and Early Literacy Development.
How to get born frees reading: model enjoyment and speak to their souls
At DGMT, one of our key strategic priorities is to nurture and grow a culture of reading in South Africa, where only 14% of people are active readers of books – so I was excited to attend a panel discussion on “Getting born frees reading” at last month’s Open Book Festival in Cape Town. At […]
Tags: Literacy development, Reading for enjoyment
Posted on 10 Oct 2014 under Early Childhood Development, From Head & Heart, From Head & Heart: Creative Learners, Opportunity 6: Reflection and Analysis, Reading and Early Literacy Development.
Activate! – Creating change by bridging divides
“There are white people on the trains, and maybe you want to talk to them, to be friendly. But what do you say to them?” Simamkele said. “You’re asking yourself, what are they interested in, what do we have to talk about? “Sports? What sports do they like, do they like soccer or do they […]
Tags: Game-Changing Leaders, Leadership development
Posted on 15 Sep 2014 under From Head & Heart, From Head and Heart: Game-Changing Leaders.
Technology is fueling change, but human relationships are at the heart of progress
At last month’s EdTechTeam South Africa Summit, it sometimes felt like I was witnessing magic. In a dazzling two-day whirlwind, we explored augmented reality, flipped classrooms, automagical differentiation, gamification, digital storytelling and more apps than I could count. The summit, which featured presenters from Google for Education, was all about what’s possible – and opportunities for […]
Tags: Education to read and write, technology
Posted on 5 Aug 2014 under From Head & Heart, From Head & Heart: Creative Learners.
