The British Council’s Connecting Classrooms initiative has expanded once more with the establishment of the Ripple Effect Partnership, a link between schools in Cameroon, the UK and Uganda.
The plan is to connect schools in these countries over the next three years to promote cultural exchanges.
The partnership also promotes literacy across the cluster of schools by focusing on specific curriculum projects.
Connecting Classrooms is a British Council initiative whose aim is to partner schools in the UK with schools in African countries.
It is now in its third year running in Cameroon, involving about 10 000 students.
Emmanuel Ngungoh, Director Business Partnerships Cameroon, says the role of the British Council in this partnership is to provide funding and a platform for intercultural dialogue.
‘We aim to strengthen ties between schools and communities within Cameroon, across Africa and with the different countries of the United Kingdom and trigger dialogue and debate.’
| Ngungoh says the schools have to comply with the following selection criteria to be part of the partnership: |
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They must be well organised and managed as well as motivated to join the programme and make the kind of impact desired. |
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They must have access to means of communication. |
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The total student population, the school’s rating in Cameroon and the level of education (kindergarten, primary, secondary, high school) are considered. |
‘The partnership challenges the stereotypes that students and teachers hold of each other and each other’s communities,’ says Ngungoh. ‘Intercultural dialogue brings together individuals in a communication process which transforms all those participating and most often results in new image constructions and changed behaviour patterns.’
For Ngungoh, being part of Connecting Classrooms and the British Council is an invitation to contribute to connecting people, cultures, societies and communities.
‘It is about facilitating a process that allows people to shift from the current perceptions they assume and hold about others and themselves, to appreciating the good in the other person. We are enabling people to share and borrow from each other’s communities to enrich their own communities. We are part of a network that challenges what is not working in each community and looks for ways of moving forward.’
To find out more about Connecting Classrooms in Cameroon, visit this page. To read more about British Council events and programmes, please visit this page. Read our latest news here: News in Africa section.
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