How African Youth Can Shape the Open Education Landscape
International Youth Day on 12th August reminds us that young people are not only the leaders of tomorrow; they are also the innovators, creators, and changemakers of today. African youth are increasingly contributing to digital learning, collaborative online communities, and open knowledge, helping to expand access to education and locally relevant knowledge across the continent.i
We celebrate the critical role that youth play in advancing Open Education and creating a future where quality learning opportunities are accessible to everyone.
Why Open Education Matters for Youth
Open Education is built on the principle that knowledge should be accessible, adaptable, and shared for the benefit of all. Through Open Educational Resources (OER), learners and educators can freely access, use, adapt, and redistribute educational content.
For Africa's youth, Open Education can:
- Increase access to quality learning materials regardless of location or income.
- Support lifelong learning and skills development.
- Enable innovation by encouraging collaboration and knowledge sharing.
- Promote locally relevant content that reflects African realities, cultures, and languages.
- Help bridge educational inequalities and digital divides.
- As the continent continues to experience rapid population growth and digital expansion, Open Education offers a powerful pathway towards inclusive and equitable learning.
African Youth as Drivers of Change
Two examples of how young Africans are already making significant contributions to the Open Education movement:
- Contributing to openly accessible knowledge by creating and sharing educational content, images, and information through platforms such as Wikipedia and other open knowledge initiatives.ii For example, Wiki Loves Africa is a competition that documents the richness, creativity, and diversity of African life through photographs, video, and audio. The 2026 theme is Rites & Rituals that include rites of passage, religious, and cultural rituals – see the web page.
- Participating in open knowledge communities that create, improve, translate, and share information and educational resources onlineiii, such as the Digitalize Youth Project 2025 that supports youth participation in digital knowledge creation and civic engagement.
Whether through universities, community organisations, innovation hubs, or online networks, youth can help shape a more accessible and collaborative educational ecosystem across Africa.
How Young People Can Get Involved
There are many ways for African youth to become active participants in Open Education:
- Understand Open Education: Learn the basics of OER, open licensing, and how openly shared knowledge can support learning and innovation and the OER Africa online tutorials.
- Learn How to Create and Adapt OER: The Course Design and Materials Development Guide explains how to find, adapt, create, and share openly licensed educational resources.
- Join Open Communities: Engage with Wikimedia projects, open-source initiatives such as GitHub’s Made in Africa, and other knowledge-sharing networks where collaboration and learning are encouraged.
- Advocate for Openness: Raise awareness among peers, educators, and institutions about the value of Open Education and open access to knowledge.
- Develop Digital Skills: Build competencies in digital literacy, content creation, research, and online collaboration to strengthen their contribution to the open education ecosystem.
- Join the Open Education Movement: Follow OER Africa's articles, updates, webinars and community activities to connect with educators, researchers, and fellow youth advocates across the continent. https://www.oerafrica.org/articles-and-updates/
Looking Ahead
Africa's educational future will be shaped by the creativity, energy, and leadership of its young people. This International Youth Day, OER Africa encourages youth across the continent to embrace the values of openness, collaboration, and inclusion by becoming active participants in the Open Education movement. Whether you choose to use OER, create and share your own learning materials, translate content into a local language, contribute to an open knowledge community, or simply share knowledge with others, every action helps build a future where quality learning is accessible to all. Together, African youth can help create a more equitable, innovative, and connected education landscape that empowers learners and communities across the continent.
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