EN – Global Education Lectures on Africa - 19 February 2026

Thanks to the Gear Up grant provided by the European Union, in cooperation with the HAND Alliance, this year we invited secondary school groups for the first time to take part on Thursday in an interactive Africa-awareness session. The initiative exceeded all our expectations. Interest was exceptional: a total of 42 schools expressed their intention to participate, and ultimately seven secondary school classes were able to attend. The students received what they learned about Africa with openness and sensitivity, full of questions, ideas, and reflections.

With the professional guidance of Dr. Gergely Buda, professional lead of the Bárcsak Foundation, a 45-minute interactive workshop was delivered. As part of this, students collected positive and negative topics in small groups at the stands of various African non-profit organizations and exhibitors—issues that will continue to shape African societies and cultures in 2026 as well, and on which these organizations are actively working. Topics included, among others, adolescent challenges in Mali, cobalt mining in the Congo, hunger, female genital mutilation, and a range of other current issues.

After the group work, one spokesperson from each group shared their thoughts on the given topic on stage. As organizers, we were also surprised by how open-minded, creative, and aware these young people were. We definitely plan to continue the program next year.

For the delivery of the program, we provided audio guide devices, enabling every student within a 60-meter radius to hear the facilitator clearly. This added significant value—something we had not even anticipated in advance.

We were especially pleased that more than 200 students stayed on the Expo grounds after the session: they asked questions, spoke with exhibitors, some offered volunteer support to an organization, while others donated their own pocket money as a contribution.

Overall, Thursday created real value, and we took an important step toward helping these young people become critical thinkers and responsible global citizens.

The event is implemented with the support of the Gear UP! project, in cooperation with the HAND Alliance

This event was co-financed by the European Union. Its contents are the sole responsibility of the Kultúrafrika Foundation and do not necessarily reflect the views of the European Union.