Background

Civitas Africa is a recently funded grant from the U.S. Department of Education. This grant expands the programmatic activities of the five-year South Africa ICEE activities. Although CIVITAS Africa involves several organizations in the United States and the participating African countries BGSU is the only American university included in the program. Bowling Green State University (BGSU) will cooperate with the Administrative Office of the Courts, Department of Court-Community Relations (AOC/CCR) in Frankfort, Kentucky and the Center for Community and Educational Development (CCED) in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa to conduct the CIVITAS Africa civic education exchange program during the period October 1, 2003, to September 30, 2005.

The partners will collaborate with their colleagues from each site in the conduct of the CIVITAS Africa exchange activities. These projects are for year one of the two year plan developed by the partnership. All activities are conducted in conjunction with CIVITAS: An International Civic Education Exchange.

Growth of the Program

Through work with the South African partner, the program has grown from five teachers three years ago to more than 200 this year, and is looking to expand beyond the province in which it is centered. The work of the Center for Community and Educational Development has evolved as a result of a series of short-term grants. The Civitas Africa grant will help sustain and further existing educational endeavors. The CIVITAS Africa grant, comprising of Ghana, Nigeria, Senegal and South Africa, will focus on the areas of classroom practice, the skills of democracy, pedagogy and ways to approach content in keeping with the national context of each country.

CIVITAS Africa News