Youth data ambassadors return to Tanzania and Cote d’ Ivoire after month-long practicum with data-driven organizations
For the second year, four Mandela Washington Fellows paired with three host organizations in Washington DC to build networks and skills on using data for local impact.
This blog post was published as part of the Data Zetu project. Data Zetu is now an initiative of the Tanzania dLab, a local NGO that promotes innovation and data literacy through a premier center of excellence. For more information about the dLab, visit www.dlab.or.tz. For more information about the Data Zetu project, visit www.irex.org.
Empowering young leaders and creating data ambassadors with evidence and information
Empowering young leaders with skills to access, analyze and use data can help them become more effective and ground them in information that will further their cause. That’s why in August, four Mandela Washington Fellows participated in the Data Collaboratives for Local Impact (DCLI) Practicum in Washington, DC. The Practicum — running for its second consecutive year — is funded by the DCLI program, a unique partnership between the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) and the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR). It’s open to Mandela Washington Fellows from Tanzania and Cote d’ Ivoire.
Organized by IREX as part of the Data Zetu project, it provides the Fellows with practical data literacy training, opportunities to learn transferable skills, and spaces to expand their professional networks by working directly with institutions in Washington DC that are at the front lines of data-driven development and decision making.
During the four-week DCLI Practicum, fellows focused on their main assignment for 25–30 hours per week in host organizations MCC, Development Gateway, and Open Data Watch. They also met with PEPFAR (who funds the DCLI program ) to learn how data analytics helps in the fight against HIV/AIDS. Fellows also attended data-related events throughout DC, participated in weekly data use training from the School of Data, and enjoyed a two-day visit to the Data Science Institute at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville.
To round out the experience, the fellows designed a joint project focusing on making data about STEM education for women in Cote d’Ivoire and Tanzania more accessible. They also collaborated in creative ways during their time in Washington DC; Itanisa and Joachim hosted a Twitter chat about health data that focused on getting more people tested for HIV/AIDS.
Meet the Fellows
Itanise Mbise (Tanzania, hosted at Development Gateway)
Joachim Mabula (Tanzania, hosted at MCC)
Jean-Jacques (Cote d’Ivoire, hosted at MCC)
Farida Makame (Tanzania, hosted at Open Data Watch)
What did the Fellows think about the Practicum?
Fellows reported that the DCLI Practicum helped them gain confidence when accessing data to help them make decisions, in their home, community and workplace. They also stated feeling more confident in managing data and sharing data for improved decision making.
When asked what they most enjoyed about the Practicum and what brought most value to them and their long-term professional and personal goals, the Fellows share some useful insights:
“[This] was an opportunity to learn how different organizations are run, how they work with data at different levels and in different contexts how they form and leverage partnerships, challenges they face and how they tackle them. My goal is to contextualize and replicate some of the ways in which they work and some of the resources they shared.”
“Resources and discussions from the School of Data will be useful for my continued learning specially because they remain available for us to refer back to even after the practicum is done.”
“I really enjoyed the field trip to Charlottesville, where we attended an event at the Data Science Institute. I met a few people whom will work with me and guide me in accomplishing some of my projects like creating a medical dictionary for English to Swahili. Also, using data to tell good stories online and give power to people to make informed decisions.”
What are host organizations saying about the Practicum?
The invaluable contributions of the host organizations — MCC, Development Gateway, and Open Data Watch — were reciprocated by those from the Fellows. In the words of the Practicum hosts:
“I really enjoyed the experience with our fellow. She was passionate, thoughtful, and a great communicator. She brought a strong skillset and experience to our organization, and we were surprised with how much she was able to contribute to our thinking on data communications and outreach in such a short time.”
“Getting to know each fellow provided us with valuable insight on the specific opportunities and challenges of young professionals in our partner countries — and learning how data analytics and evidence-based decision making (combined with the tremendous passion, energy, and positive outlook which they all seem to have) can provide them with the levers they need to achieve results within their organizations and communities and countries.”
What happens next?
During a close-out event hosted at the Open Gov Hub, the Fellows presented and reflected on their individual experiences. There, they shared their findings on a new group project about increasing women’s participation in STEM education in Tanzania and Cote d’Ivoire — and, more specifically, the lack of useful data about the gap of women in STEM in those countries. For this group project, they applied the skills learned during their School of Data training, talked about challenges in finding data related to women’s engagement in STEM, shared their key learnings and recommendations, and even discussed next steps to continue to work together and collaborate when they return home.
