Africa
IAF Africa 2024 Conference
Conference Report:
Embrace digital facilitation to remain relevant and trending
The just concluded 11th International Association of Facilitators (IAF) Africa conference was a buzz of activities.
Kampala-Uganda, the beautiful Pearl of Africa, was honoured to host the three-day conference from 23rd -25th September 2024.
To add icing on the cake, the Uganda chapter was thrilled to have been selected to host the conference in the same year the association celebrates its 30th anniversary of global existence.
Meet our Conference Leadership Team!
We would like to thank Judith and Caleb for leading our Conference Team. We appreciate all their efforts!
Overview
Facilitation in Africa is as broad and diverse as the continent itself. Made up of 54 countries, with as many as 2,000 different spoken languages and at least as many ethnic groups, the continent is rich in its many approaches to facilitation. Facilitation practice is also very deep-rooted in many African traditional and spiritual practices, and occurs naturally in many communities throughout the region.
Africa Region Strategic Priorities for 2023-24
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Deliver member value: Understand and be responsive to member needs in Africa; Create and capture member value.
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Enable growth: Share resources for professional development; Grow professionally through learning; Share opportunities among members.
- Increase engagement: Increase the level of membership engagement; Increase visibility of regional, chapter and global events.
- Enable access: Enable access to membership and programmes; Develop a multi-lingual approach to our work; Offer membership and certification support through available financial assistance.
- Build IAF Africa: Develop a solid, structured, credible & supportive Africa Leadership Team; Support the development of vibrant chapters throughout the region; Promote collaboration.
For more information about the region, please contact our Regional Director, Sophie Kange, through rep.africa@iaf-world.org.
For information on upcoming events please visit the IAF Events page.
IAF Africa Leadership Team:
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Sophie Kange - Regional Director
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Sharda Naidoo - Global Treasurer
- John Cornwell - Membership & Chapters Development
- Emmanuel Michael - Professional Development
- Ahmed El-Shafey & Rania Abuelhassan - North Africa Reps
- Elizabeth Ajala & Souleymane Gamene - West Africa Reps
- Musakabantu Unene - Southern Africa Rep
- Judith Bakwangira & Hohete Arefeaine - East Africa Reps
Online Sessions by IAF Africa
The Heart of African Facilitation: Facilitating with Meaning
The Heart of African Facilitation: Storytelling in Facilitation
Facilitation and Women Economic Empowerment
The Heart of African Facilitation: Tools to Enhance Facilitation Sessions
You can access the slides of the session here.
Membership & Chapters
Currently, we have more than 110 members in 20 countries and from all sub-regions of the continent, as well as several diaspora members.
For those who wish to join or renew their membership, please do get in touch office@iaf-world.org
There are currently nine IAF chapters in Africa – Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Kenya, Nigeria, Tanzania, Togo, Tunisia, Uganda, and Southern Africa*.
Current chapters in Africa
For information about local meetings and activities, please contact any of the following chapter contact persons:
Burkina Faso | Rodolphe Djiguimde
Tunisia | TBC
If there is no chapter in your country, please reach out to the regional representatives:
Eastern Africa | Judith Bakwangira or Hohete Arefeaine
North Africa | Ahmed El-Shafey or Dr. Rania (Alahmer) Abdalla Abuelhassan
West Africa | Souleymane Gamene or Elizabeth Ajala
Southern Africa | Musakabantu Unene
Professional Development
Please also check on the Financial Support Programme to know if you are eligible for support
Please check the IAF Events Page for more information about upcoming Professional Development sessions
IAF Africa Induction Sessions
IAF Africa offers regular induction sessions in both English and French for new members to learn more about our activities and opportunities, as well as to network with other new and existing members. For more information on these, please contact our Membership & Chapters Lead, John Cornwell.
Communications:
A lot of our internal communication takes place in one of several whatsapp groups. The Africa group is only for members, whereas several countries and regions have their own groups, often with a larger reach.
If you have information to share on the website or would like to find out more about the region’s activities, please contact our Regional Director Sophie Kange.
About IAF in Africa
Please read more information about IAF in Africa in:
Participants during the Conference in Nairobi, Kenya, 2016
Facilitation in Africa
What does facilitation look like in Africa? There is no simple answer to this question; facilitation approaches and experiences are as broad and diverse as the continent itself.
Traditional and common practices, such as storytelling and community-led development, sit in harmony with participatory facilitation processes. When combined effectively, they can produce powerful and sustainable outcomes.
"Mozambique is at a stage where building capacity and knowledge is in demand to respond to the challenges for development. As such, I see an enormous opportunity for facilitation across the country. And that is my personal contribution. As a facilitator, I help a group of people go somewhere together, with a purpose." - Edson Correia, IAF member and CPF in Maputo, Mozambique
"Since the profession is still relatively new in Nigeria, there is a huge opportunity for an association that helps to create awareness for just what facilitation is or is not, and to set standards and promote ethics and best practices for facilitation." - Kate Onyeanakwe, IAF member based in Abuja, Nigeria
"In Togo, and much of francophone West Africa, facilitation is not very well defined. Many people confuse facilitation and training. That makes it challenging for facilitators to remain detached and out of the content, while their clients want them to be experts on the subject matter. Communication, awareness, and even training of key stakeholders is critical if we want to make the profession move effective in our region." - Kofi Kumodzi, IAF member and CPF based in Lome, Togo
Special Interest Groups:
Many of our members are also involved in the IAF Special Interest Groups. For more information on any of these, please click on the links to their pages below:
Facilitadores Hispanohablantes
Future of Foresight Facilitation
Conferences in the Africa Region
Lome, Togo (2019) English / French
There were also four Conferences, which took place in South Africa, between 2005 - 09
In late 2019, the region decided that it would in future be organising more sub-regional and national Conferences. This is in recognition of the enormous costs of travel within the Africa region, which makes it hard for people to move from one sub-region to another. All Conference, however, will always be open to any Facilitator anywhere in the world who is interested to participate.