The ERASMUS+ program, funded by the European Union, aims primarily to support education, training, youth, and sports in Europe. However, this program includes numerous initiatives to enhance education beyond the borders of the European Union. Among these are training and capacity-building programs for vocational education trainers, specifically in the Sub-Saharan African region.
Within this framework, the CircuWasteVETAfrica project, led by the Italian organization AREA, aims to promote sustainable waste management and Circular Economy skills in Africa by training vocational education teachers and students, enhancing both their academic and practical competencies.
With the ambition to contribute to the Triple Transition (Green, Social, and Digital) that characterizes many EU programs and aligned with the ambitious environmental goals of the European Green Deal and the EU-Africa Strategic Partnership, the project aims to make an impact in various cities and regions across the African continent. Its goal is to leverage digital and pedagogical tools that support a sustainable and carbon-free future.
The project will begin by analyzing the skills gap in sustainable waste management and Circular Economy in the participating countries (Ghana, Namibia, Angola, and São Tomé and Príncipe). This analysis will serve as the foundation for designing and developing a train-the-trainer program, aimed at equipping vocational education teachers and school directors with key skills, including digital innovation, micro-entrepreneurship, and circular business models adapted to their local context.
Based on the results of this initial phase, a training program for students will be developed. This educational material will be made available to vocational education and training (VET) students in Namibia, Ghana, Angola, and São Tomé and Príncipe.
The program aims to establish strategic partnerships with key public and private sector organizations in the participating countries to ensure that the courses are developed based on the skills demanded by local industries. Additionally, it seeks to enable the replication of these training programs in other vocational education schools within these countries.
The project consortium, led by AREA, an SME from Italy, will work together with a series of key partners both in Europe and Africa. Among the European partners are: the Asociación MUNDUS from Spain, the Federazione CNOS-FAP from Italy, and the company MQ from Portugal. In Africa, the partners include VIS ANGOLA, Presbyterian Relief Services and Development in Ghana, the Centro de Formação Profissional de São Tomé e Príncipe from the CPLP, and the Swakopmund Municipality in Namibia.
The marked diversity of partners within the consortium is key to the collaboration between the EU and Africa, combining the expertise and know-how of both continents to foster the exchange and transfer of knowledge in the area of skills education for the ecological transition and circular economy, as well as strengthening bilateral relations between the two continents.
In conclusion, this two-year program aims to promote good environmental practices and improve the quality and responsiveness of vocational education institutions to the new challenges and opportunities in the labor market in Sub-Saharan Africa.
- AREA
- CNOS-FAP
- Asociación Mundus
- Volontariato Internazionale per lo Sviluppo (VIS)
- Minimos Quadrados (MQ)
- Presbyterian Relief Services and Development
(PRSD) - Swakopmund Municipality, Centro de Formação Profissional de
São Tomé e Príncipe (CFPSTP)
Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them.
