News and Events
T2T fundraising event: a conversation between Jonathan Freedland and Mark Urban
On Wednesday 20th March, T2T founder Anita Lowenstein Dent hosted a very successful fundraising event at her home. Guests were treated to a fascinating conversation between two eminent broadcasters and writers - Jonathan Freedland and Mark Urban - and a delicious dinner. Guests were also invited to bid in a silent auction, featuring an extraordinary variety of prizes generously donated by friends of T2T.
T2T Radio 2 programme launches in Northern Ghana in January 2024
In January 2024, the T2T Radio 2 programme launched in Northern Ghana. This means that T2T's innovative combined teacher training, community engagement and educational broadcasting project broadens to include 5 new target schools and communities, and reaches an audience of up to 7 million local radio listeners in Ghana's Northern and Savannah Regions.
T2T founder and CEO Anita Lowenstein Dent visited Ghana in January to launch the project and work with the many people involved in teacher training and production of radio programmes.
With the expansion of T2T Radio, we take a 360° approach to embedding learning in schools and communities. Alongside creating new educational radio programmes, the project involves training 15 unemployed young people as Community Volunteer Teachers (CVTs), and Anita took part in the training of these enthusiastic new teachers. The training of the CVTs is lead by Mohammed Alhassan Karimu, Executive Director of Centre for Literacy and Vocational Supprt (CLiVS), T2T’s partner in Northern Ghana.
Starting in September 2023 and continuing into this year, a number of head teachers (HTs) and resident teachers (RTs) in the schools T2T works with have also been trained in leadership and advocacy.
Anita worked with partner local radio stations Radio Savannah and Radio Dagbon to record 32 new radio shows (16 in English and 16 in the local language Dagbani). These were also filmed and will be accessible on the T2T YouTube channel. The HTs and RTs trained used the skills they have learned as contributors to the radio shows.
The radio shows will reach up to 7 million Dagbani-speaking Ghanaians.
Anita visited 5 partner schools participating in the project. Work in these schools began in September 2023 - training teachers and head teachers in inclusive teaching and classroom practices, leadership and advocacy skills. The CVTs will be deployed in the 5 hard-to-reach schools from January to July 2024, bringing inclusive learning and an emphasis on the importance of attendance to schools in our partner communities.
CVTs and other participating teachers were trained in the importance of their students actively participating in learning in the classroom. CVTs make frequent use of pair work, games and group work to make learning fun and engaging for every child in the class.
T2T Training Workshop
In April 2023 T2T ran a three day training workshop for 30 teachers and 10 headteachers in the communities in Northern Ghana where we work. This workshop is part of an extension to the T2T Radio project, which aims to increase enrolment and attendance of children, particularly girls and children living with disabilities, and has already contributed to 36% increase in regular attendance and enrolment in our target communities. The workshop focussed on the basic pedagogical skills crucial for teachers to use in the classroom. It covered topics that teachers had said that they would find most useful in their day-to-day work, as well as extra curricular and advocacy activities.
Thank you to all those who attended and participated so enthusiastically!
T2T Strategy Away Day
T2T CEO Anita Lowenstein Dent was delighted to host the charity’s first in-person Strategy Away Day since the pandemic. 12 members of the team from the Board of Trustees and the Advisory Board gathered to discuss the future of T2T’s work, including the next steps of the T2T Radio project. More details of these developments will follow soon.
The away day provided a chance to celebrate some changes to the T2T team and also to welcome some new members.
Rebecca Roden (left) and Nola Beirne (right), both of whom were previously members of the Advisory Board, have now joined the Board of Trustees. We welcome them both.
We are also delighted to welcome Allie Ames, Annelle Bellony, and Solomon Soquar to the Advisory Board. We look forward to drawing on their wide-ranging expertise.
We would also like to extend our sincere thanks to Penny Moyle, who generously facilitated the meeting, providing invaluable direction and structure to the discussion. You can find out more about Penny’s work here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/penny-moyle-8596572/
Click on the image below to read T2T’s Christmas newsletter and find about about the future of T2T Radio
Rebecca Roden hosts Art Raffle in support of T2T
On 3rd November, T2T Advisory Board member Rachel Roden hosted a charity art raffle, with all proceeds going to T2T. The works of art on sale were generously donated by friends and renowned artists, and included a work valued at over £2,000. The whole T2T team would like to extend heartfelt thanks to Rebecca and her friend Ali, who organised the event, which was a huge success.
Organisers Rebecca (right) and Ali (left).
T2T’s annual Pop-up Tea Room makes a triumphant return
This summer we were delighted to be able to bring back one of T2T’s fundraising events, the annual Pop-Up Tea Room. Anita Lowenstein Dent, T2T’s CEO, opens up her house one weekend a year to host visitors to the open garden weekend in Notting Hill. A team of dedicated volunteers made a fantastic assortment of sandwiches, cakes and other refreshments for visitors to sample, all in support of our work at T2T.
Huge thanks from T2T to all the generous volunteers who made cakes, sandwiches, and gave their time over the weekend to serve visitors to the tea room. The event was a great success, and all the funds will go directly to support T2T’s work.
Teach2Teach Radio launches in the Northern Region of Ghana
Wednesday 9th December marked the official launch of T2T’s new media project, T2T Radio. We were honoured to welcome many honoured guests, including representatives of Ghana Education Service, University for Development Studies, Tamale, and Bagabaga College of Education, along with members of the press. In attendance were Hannah Simmons - T2T’s Project Manager for T2T Radio - and Karimu Alhassan Mohammed - T2T’s long-term collaborator and head of CLiVs, our partnership organisation for the project - both of whom have been working tirelessly on location, meeting with stakeholders and training and rehearsing participants.
Over the next 6 months, T2T will rehearse, record and broadcast a series of radio programmes on educational topics ranging from the importance of education for girls to social and emotional development. On each show a panel of participants (as pictured) will discuss the chosen topic, with the aim of supporting parents, caregivers and the wider community, as well as educational professionals, to understand the value of education for all and support children’s learning in school and at home.
T2T founder and CEO was sadly unable to get out to Ghana, but spoke to the launch event via video link from the UK:
“It has taken over two years of hard work, fundraising and planning to get to this exciting day - the launch T2T Radio. This, and its sister project Teach2Teach TV, our platform where videocasts of all our radio shows are permanently accessible online, gives Teach2Teach and the people of Northern Ghana a local and global voice, providing incisive thought leadership on matters to do with education. It is our ambition to use radio to reach deep into the hearts of communities across Africa, and to roll out T2T projects in schools, in communities, on the airwaves, and online. We begin here, today in Northern Ghana with Teach2Teach Radio. So, Ti ku mali chama, onwards and upwards, and onto the airwaves.”
Charity Charity
We are very sorry to share the terrible news that Charity Charity, a deeply valued member of T2T's Advisory Board and great friend of the organisation since its earliest days, has passed away.
Charity's communications expertise has been integral to the development of T2T’s identity as an organisation, and will be sorely missed. Even more than this though, we will miss the creativity, enthusiasm and joy that she brought to everything that she did. The thoughts of all of us at T2T are with her family.
First cohort of Community Volunteer Teachers graduates
On 10 December 2020, T2T held a Graduation Ceremony for the first cohort of Community Volunteer Teachers (CVTs). We were honoured to host T2T's great supporter and benefactor Chief Alhassan Andani (pictured centre in righthand photo), who presented each CVT with their graduation certificate. Despite COVID-19 restrictions, the ceremony was an opportunity for the CVTs to celebrate and reflect on their tremendous success within the programme.
The ceremony was preceded by a day of workshops at which CVTs were provided with career guidance and presentations by the Ghana Education Service, head teachers, School Management Committees and Parent Teacher Organisations. The CVTs have formed an alumni network with the purpose of providing peer support for each other and for the next cohort, sharing their experience and the lessons they learned.
Click the image below to read T2T’s Christmas newsletter
T2T holds third AGM
In October 2020 T2T International’s third AGM took place virtually. The meeting was attended by Ghanaian supporters, partners School for Life as well as Board of Trustees, members of the Advisory Board and general supporters of our work.
Alongside the formal business of the AGM, including presentation of the Chair's Annual Report and Treasurer's Financial Overview, reports were presented on development and growth, operations and adaptability, and on communication and engagement. T2T is extremely grateful to all those who attended for their inputs and support. Click the image to the right to read the chairs overview of the year.
T2T delighted to announce funding from the Sir Halley Stewart Trust
T2T is delighted to announce that we have been awarded a grant by the Sir Halley Stewart Trust. The trust offers multi-year funding opportunities for charities supporting social development. These funds will support T2T’s recently developed Disability and Inclusion Programme (DIP).
Community Volunteer Teachers attend two day Refresher Training
T2T were delighted to be able to run a two day Refresher Training for the full cohort of Community Volunteer Teachers. The training took place at the Dalun Simili Centre in Kumbungu, and was run with social distancing measures in place.
The training refreshed and maintained CVTs’ knowledge of T2T’s core pedagogical methodology, as well as enhancing their knowledge in education, heath and wellbeing resilience; adaptive teaching strategies; inclusion, disability; safeguarding and creative learning approaches.
We thank all our CVTs for their enthusiastic engagement with the refresher training, and hope that they feel refreshed in their skills, and full of confidence and new ideas.
Anita Lowenstein Dent speaks at the National Youth Council of Nigeria’s 2020 International Youth Day conference
Teach2Teach invited to pitch at The Funding Network’s Strategic Funding Group
T2T are delighted and proud to announce that we have been invited to pitch at The Funding Network’s (TFN) Strategic Funding Group (SFG). TFN is an extraordinary organisation that links potential donors to charities through live crowdfunding. The SFG is for organisations that have already been through the TFN process and are looking for strategic or transformational support, either to drive forward a new intervention, expand an already successful programme, or invest in organisational sustainability.
Newsletter - Spring 2020
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Teach2Teach is now on Twitter
Follow T2T @Teach2TeachInt, or click below to go to our profile.
T2T CEO Anita Lowenstein Dent invited to speak at The Commonwealth Africa Summit, March 2020
The Fore award a grant to T2T
We are delighted to announce that T2T has been awarded a grant by The Fore, a prestigious and uniquely collaborative UK based funding body.
We are honoured to receive the grant, and we are proud to be recognised by such an eminent funding body just 18 months into our journey as an organisation.
T2T’s founder Anita Lowenstein Dent wins Points of Light award
Congratulations to Anita, who has been awarded a Points of Light award, which recognises outstanding change-makers.
In a personal letter to Anita, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said:
“I know you do this with no thought of praise or reward, but allow me to offer my own recognition of how ‘Teach2Teach International’ is training the teachers of the future, giving young people across Ghana the education they need to succeed in their own lives and communities.”
Click the image below to read the full story:
The Wiyaala Gala
Watch our new film about our fabulous CVTs, and scroll down to see a message from Lord Paul Boateng, as well as a video and photos of the Wiyaala Gala
The Rt Hon Lord Paul Yaw Boateng, PC
Watch a video of the evening below
27 Likes, 3 Comments - Mary-Lu Bakker (@marylubakker) on Instagram: "The amazing Wiyaala singing last night to raise funds to train Ghanaian teachers with..."
“Well done Anita on a great evening last night. Good fun.” Jonathan
“Congratulations on a fabulous success last night!” Wendy
“Amazing. Amazing. Amazing. Huge congratulations!” David
“What a fantastic night you gave us all. It came together beautifully.” Annie
“Congratulations on laying on such a spectacular event. Music, food and general vibe were all fab.” Hilary
“Thanks to all of you for a fantastic evening, but even more for all your excellent work towards a very deserving cause.” Ian
News from Ghana
T2T’s Community Volunteer Teacher Programme has launched in the Kumbungu District of Ghana’s Northern Region. Our first cohort of 34 talented and motivated Community Volunteer Teachers have completed the initial eight day intensive training. Congratulations to them all!
Having completed the eight day intensive, our 34 CVTs have covered as much ground as teachers in other colleges of education cover in three years. The vast majority of CVTs come from families in which they are the only literate child. They have all completed senior high school, but financial constraint mean they cannot continue to tertiary training, and jobs are extremely scarce.
The CVTs prize the programme as a unique and extremely valuable opportunity to escape unemployment and poverty. They have a strong sense of duty to serve the children they will teach, and are motivated to raise up the new generation of young Ghanaians that will follow in their footsteps. They take their roles as leaders, mentors and role models extremely seriously.
T2T hosted an inauguration event for the CVTP for 100 people at our training centre in Kumbungu.
We were delighted to host a group of highly esteemed guests to our event. It was a pleasure and an honour to welcome Chief Alhassan Andani, CEO of Stanbic Bank, Chair of the Ghana Association of Bankers, and special advisor to the President of Ghana on corporate and social responsibility for SDGs. We were especially honoured when Chief Andani broke with usual protocol and observed a CVT training session in the classroom.
Alongside Chief Andani, we we honoured to welcome Ambassador Patrick Hayford, Special Advisor on Africa and Director for African Affairs in the Office of the UN Secretary General Kofi Annan; Mr Mohammed Haroun, Regional Director of Education for the Northern Region; and Leticia Browne, Director of the Advisory Group on SDGs to the President of Ghana.
We were also honoured to welcome representatives for the District Assembly, University for Development Studies Tamale, Bagabaga College of Education, Ghana Developing Communities Association, School for Life Technical Committee, CAMFED, and the National Youth Authority of Ghana.
Many stirring speeches were made at the event. Chief Andani spoke inspiringly, telling the CVTs that they should reach for their goals and raise up Ghana. A number of the new CVTs spoke extremely movingly about what the programme means to them. The event ended with a feast, and the presentation of cake emblazoned with the T2T logo to the CVTs.
Ghana News Agency cover the Kumbungu launch
Wiyaala profiled in The Financial Times
Small Charities Challenge Fund Grant
Teach2Teach International has been awarded a grant from the Small Charities Challenge Fund (SCCF), the Department for International Development (DFID) fund supporting charities to achieve sustained poverty reduction.
Secretary of State for International Development Penny Mordaunt said:
“Every child should be able to go to school, and ultimately, we cannot end poverty without helping children reach their full potential.
“I’m proud UK aid is supporting Teach2Teach International to allow young children in Ghana to receive a quality education and realise a better future for themselves and their families.
“Small British charities often punch above their weight and UK aid’s Small Charities Challenge Fund exists to make sure those organisations with big hearts get the early support they need to help end poverty.”
The Ghanaian Association of Bankers hosts Teach2Teach in Accra
The Ghanaian Times: Community Volunteer Teacher Programme to be implemented next year
“Speaking at a roundtable discussion to build a consortium of social impact funders to support the CVTP work of the Teach2Teach International, the Founder of Teach2Teach International, Anita Lowenstein Dent said the programme was to help build the skills of senior high school graduates who are interested in teaching to enter teaching in their communities to address the shortage of teachers in the beneficiary regions.”
“The Minister of Education, Dr Matthew Opoku-Prempeh in remarks made on his behalf lauded Teach2Teach for the initiative, saying government was committed to quality education delivery.”
http://www.ghanaiantimes.com.gh/community-volunteer-teacher-programme-to-be-implemented-next-year
Ghana News Agency: Corporate bodies should support Teach2Teach project – Stanbic MD
“Mr Alhassan Andani, the Managing Director of Stanbic Bank, has appealed to financial institutions and corporate bodies to support the “Teach2Teach” educational project in the country.”
“Mr Andani said education played an immeasurable role in the development of any country, and that it was necessary for stakeholders to support underserved educational institutions especially those in rural areas to bridge the educational gap.”
GhanaWeb: GAB to support Community Volunteer Teacher Programme – Alhassan Andani
“Speaking to Journalists after a Ghana Association of Bankers and Teach2Teach roundtable discussion, Mr Andani said the GAB will the using their CSR investment fund which is normally used in supporting flood victims and victims of fire disasters to support the underprivileged communities.”
“These under-privileged communities have children really being flooded down so we will not wait for occasional rain flood but we will go and deal together as an association with the issue of rural teacher problems and teaching issues within the rural areas.”
GhanaWeb TV: “I’m embarrassed by my region’s position in school ranking” - Mohammed Haroun, Director of Education, Northern Region
Teach2Teach International Launch Event: Charity Preview of The Square
An exclusive charity preview of Oscar nominated film The Square took place on Thursday, 22nd February, 2018 at the Electric Cinema. Dominic West, one of the stars of The Square, joined us for the evening.
Directed by Ruben Östlund
Starring Elisabeth Moss, Dominic West & Claes Bang
Christian is the respected curator of a contemporary art museum, a divorced but devoted father of two who drives an electric car and supports good causes. His next show is ‘The Square’, an installation which invites passersby to altruism, reminding them of their role as responsible fellow human beings. But sometimes, it is difficult to live up to your own ideals: Christian’s foolish response to the theft of his phone drags him into shameful situations.
Meanwhile, the museum’s PR agency has created an unexpected campaign for ‘The Square’. The response is overblown and sends Christian, as well as the museum, into an existential crisis.
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