Preamble

This preamble makes available three pieces of information, namely, the names of participating entities to the network, names of current members including the leadership and plans for future membership.

To kick start the Gaboborone-Calabar Learning Cities 2020 Network, the following participating institutions, cities and members’ names have been retained:

1. University of Botswana, Botswana - Idowu Biao [email protected] & Peggy Gabo Ntseane  [email protected]
2. University of Calabar, Nigeria - Simon Odey Ering  [email protected]  & Roseline Tawo [email protected]
3. Gaborone City, Botswana - Contact person to be identified shortly
4. Calabar City, Cross River State, Nigeria - Contact person to be identified shortly

Idowu Biao is professor of Lifelong learning at the Dept. of Adult Education, University of Botswana, Gaborone, Botswana. One main meeting and a number of electronic/telephonic communications were engaged in by Network members in Gaborone and Calabar between April 10 and 16, 2014 during process of which  Idowu Biao was accepted as leader of the Network. He has been requested to combine the role of leader and secretary till June 25, 2014, the date of the next main meeting.

Peggy Gabo Ntseane is professor of Adult Education at the Dept. of Adult Education, University of Botswana, Gaborone, Botswana.

Simon Odey Ering is associate professor of Development studies, Dept. of Sociology, University of Calabar, Cross River State, Nigeria.

Roseline Tawo is associate professor of Adult Education, University of Calabar, Cross River State, Nigeria.

It is envisaged that one or two Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) would be associated to the network at a later date.

The Context

In Africa, one may speak of two concepts of city, namely ancient African city and modern African city concepts. While all African nations have now fully embraced the concept of modern city, they have not been able to make a success of this concept due to challenges that extend from inadequate city dwellers’ education to rural-urban areas dysfunctional relationship (Biao, Esaete and Oonyu, 2013).

A more proactive and inclusive promotion of adult education has been identified as a possible panacea for the ills currently befalling African cities (Biao, Esaete and Oonyu, 2013; Walters, Yang and Roselander, 2012).

Despite the fact that non-formal and adult education have existed in the five countries for some time, as shown in Chapter 6, they are still considered a low priority. Their current status remains inferior to that of formal education in many aspects, although they contribute significantly to socio-economic development, particularly for marginalized groups and communities. Calls for improvement in non-formal and adult education are manifest. For example, an interviewee in Rwanda stated: “We cannot bring all of our people to go to school, so we need to develop adult and non-formal education. The time is right to start talking about adult and continuing education especially to address the pressing needs of women and men in the rural areas and the agricultural sector.” (Walters, Yang and Roselander, 2012 p. 45).

While the advice to use adult and non-formal education as instrument for addressing current challenges of African communities (including cities) is taken by members of the Gaborone-Calabar Learning Cities 2020 Network, it is the view of the members of the network, that not many of the dynamics contributing to African cities challenges are yet fairly well understood. Consequently, the Gaborone-Calabar Learning Cities 2020 Network has taken the decision to select one main issue in Africa (rural-urban linkages) with the view to unraveling the dynamics underlying these linkages in the cases of Gaborone and Calabar. It is hoped that this unraveling will eventually lead to some solutions to African cities challenges.

Key Objectives

The following objectives are to lead towards the achievement of the goal enunciated within the context.

A.   Investigate, through two case study researches, the dynamics that underlie Gaborone-rural areas linkage and Calabar-rural areas linkage.
B.    Seek the support of the research units of the University of Botswana, University of Calabar and the Pascal Learning Cities 2020 Networks to carry out these researches.

Proposed Actions

The following actions are proposed to drive the actualization of the stated objectives.

• Send out a Gaborone-Calabar Learning Cities 2020 Network brief to members of the PASCAL Learning Cities 2020 Networks.
• Send information and documentation about the Gaborone-Calabar Learning Cities 2020 Network to the Vice-chancellor of the University of Calabar to solicit his support.
• Develop a research proposal concerning the Gaborone and Calabar case urban-rural linkages case studies.
• Carry out the research
• Upload research findings on PASCAL Learning Cities 2020 Networks Website
• Organise a conference around the research findings that will attract government officials/policy makers, Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and relevant PASCAL Learning Cities 2020 Networks.
• Link up with governments with the view to developing urban-rural linkage policies
• The work of the Network is to proceed from here.

Contributions to Learning Cities Networks

1). The research, conference and subsequent activities would highlight the relevance learning cities activities within the African developmental framework.

2). The clarification of dynamics underlying rural-urban linkages would lead to policies that will sanitise Gaborone and Calabar cities in particular and African cities in general. This is one of the main objective of the Learning Cities 2020 Networks

References

Biao, I. Esaete, J. & Oonyu, J, (2013). The role of learning cities in the rejuvenation of Africa                                       International Review of Education 59(4),469-488

Walters, S. Yang, J. & Roslander, P. (2012) Study on key issues and policy considerations in promoting lifelong learning in selected countries. Tunis: Association for the Development of Education in Africa.