The VFA mission is to educate, inform, and open a dialogue about pressing education issues in Africa. There has never been a greater need for authentic dialogue and reflection on development in Africa. Despite the ever-increasing presence of development organizations and multilateral donor agencies, the uneasy reality is that of a growing gap between the rich and the poor, an overwhelming rise in HIV infection rates, a dearth of leadership in the public sphere, and the marginalization of local and indigenous cultures in the face of social change. This student-initiated group aims to raise the awareness of the community and increase African presence at the HGSE in order to encourage and inform understanding of the educational issues facing African countries, African immigrants, refugees and other diaspora and the United States.

Voices for Africa worked collabortively toward the production of the conference in the areas of publicity, fundraising, marketing, and conference logistics. If you are interested in joining VFA for the duration of the 2005-2006 academic year, please contact Karen Wiener at wienerka@gse.harvard.edu