Advocacy
Pamoja West Africa works to support and enable National Pamojas to promote understanding of the needs expressed in communities across the sub region by policy and decision makers in government and development agencies. Pamoja West Africa's direct links with hundreds of communities across 12 countries supports its credibility and mandate for advocacy in its own right as a sub regional network and it has coordinated or contributed to a number of campaigns.
The African Platform for Adult Education brings together four African networks advocating to improve the non formal education sector (ANCEFA, PAALAE, FEMNET and Pamoja). It was created to coordinate African civil society's preparations for CONFINTEA VI and to enable CSO's to speak with a common voice at the conference itself. It succeeded in ensuring that the conference considered not only adults' learning needs but also those of youth who have either dropped out of or never been to school. This is a demographically significant group with enormous needs regarding literacy, life skills and technical and vocational training to enable them to earn a living and be active citizens. Young people have the potential to propel Africa's economy into the 21st century - but only if they have access to the necessary learning opportunities.
Although facing some coordination challenges since the beginning of 2010 the Platform is a good example of the potential of coordinated action for change.