2021 Changemakers Summit

Changemakers 2021 - Tanzania

In September, the Vermont Council on World Affairs partnered with Techvantage Tanzania, an organization based in Dar es Salaam that provides opportunities for students to broaden their knowledge of technology and improve their English language skills, to present the second Changemakers Summit to students in Tanzania’s capital city. This year alone, Techvantage Tanzania expects to serve more than 1000 students from schools throughout Dar es Salaam who lack access to technological resources.

This year’s Changemakers Summit builds on a history of engagement between the Vermont Council on World Affairs and the country of Tanzania. In 2019, the VCWA hosted one adult mentor (who is also the founder of Techvantage Tanzania) and five high school students from Tanzania through the Pan-African Youth Leadership Program (PAYLP), a three-week exchange program sponsored by the US Department of State that promotes leadership and entrepreneurship skills to high school students across Africa. Later that year, through a grant from the George Washington University Institute for Public Diplomacy and Global Communication’s annual Walter Roberts Endowment, the Vermont Council on World Affairs organized and sponsored the first Changemakers Summit, focused on achieving equity through innovation. The goal of that summit was to connect future leaders and mentors invested in equity and entrepreneurship, particularly in the field of women’s health, and featured several guest speakers, including Burlington’s own Dr. Anne Dougherty.

We were excited to continue building on this relationship with our friends in Tanzania and appreciate the support from the Vermont Community Foundation that helped make this event a success. More than 30 high school students participated in this day long event, where they connected with guest speakers from the United States, South Sudan, and Tanzania. Like their counterparts in the United States, many of the students in attendance had experienced academic hardships as a result of COVID-19. The featured speakers took the opportunity to share tips and advice on best practices for fully utilizing technology to increase productivity while learning and how to access information and educational opportunities online.

Vermont Council on World Affairs Executive Director Patricia Preston, who attended virtually, offered closing remarks along with Kyona Benjamin, the Founder of Techvantage Tanzania, and reiterated the important role that technology can play in pursuing and achieving academic goals. Kyona Benjamin was thrilled with the success of the event, writing that “programs like these make learning easy and accessible to the youth and helps them transform into global citizens.”