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Nana Yaa Serwaa Sarpong advocates Bold educational reforms at the UK House of Lords during Global Education Summit.
On November 27 2025, global development leaders, policymakers, education experts and civil society organisations gathered at the UK Parliament’s House of Lords for the Global Education Summit hosted by The Baroness Verma of Leicester and organised by the African British Business Forum.
The high-level event focused on the global rise in out-of-school children and the urgent reforms required to deliver equitable, quality education for all.
Among the distinguished Speakers was Nana Yaa Serwaa Sarpong, Founder & President of Women in Sustainability Africa (WiSA) and General Manager of the EIB Network, who delivered a compelling address on the theme “Breaking Barriers: Empowering Out-of-School Children Through Education.”
In her remarks, Nana Yaa who is currently celebrating 26years of Service in the Media, emphasized that education must be viewed as essential national infrastructure, not charity.
Borrowing experiences from her 18 years of empowering women and young people, she presented a strong case on how Africa’s poor educational systems tie into the poor state of its Gender Equality gap.
According to her, unlocking access to education is one of the most effective ways to strengthen economies, empower women and young girls, build resilient communities and drive sustainable development.
She highlighted that each child excluded from learning represents deferred innovation, delayed opportunity and a weakened society.
Nana Yaa noted that the barriers keeping millions of children out of school are complex and interconnected—ranging from poverty and cultural norms to geographical isolation and digital exclusion.
Addressing these challenges, she argued, requires solutions that are equally comprehensive and multi-layered.
Nana Yaa stressed that girls remain disproportionately affected, and investing in girls’ education has a transformative impact across several Sustainable Development Goals, including gender equality, poverty reduction, health outcomes and climate resilience.
Nana Yaa advocated for the expansion of flexible, inclusive and community-responsive educational models, such as mobile classrooms for remote and nomadic communities, community learning hubs, after-hours programmes for working children, radio-based instruction for low-tech areas and digital platforms designed to reach learners regardless of connectivity challenges.
She warned that without deliberate action, the digital divide would continue to widen, pushing already vulnerable children further to the margins.
During her presentation, she introduced three major reforms WiSA is seeking Partners for, aimed at reshaping educational access across Africa and beyond.
These are the Digital Bridge for Out-of-School Children (DBOC), the Community Education Stewardship Hubs (CESH) involving local women educators and youth volunteers and the Teen-focused Global Skills Accelerator for Out-of-School Teens (GSA-OT).
She also underscored the need for education systems that support instruction, inclusivity and healing, particularly for children experiencing autism, trauma, displacement or conflict.
Nana Yaa emphasised that emotional and psychological support must be integrated into educational frameworks in order to restore confidence, stability and long-term learning capacity.
The summit concluded with strong commitments from stakeholders to adopt sustainable financing models, strengthen data-driven policies and expand cross-sector partnerships.
The African British Business Forum reaffirmed its commitment to championing innovative, scalable solutions to educational inclusion across the UK, Africa and the wider global community.
The Ghana Catholic Bishops’ Conference has called for investigations into the recent Karnival Kingdom Festival over what it described as acts of public nudity and possible failures by state institutions.
In a statement issued on Monday, May 4, 2026, and signed by the President of the Conference, Most Rev. Matthew Kwasi Gyamfi, the bishops condemned activities that took place during the festival held from April 22 to 28, 2026.
The Conference described the event as an “eyesore” that undermined Ghanaian values and breached Section 278 of the Criminal Offences Act, 1960 (Act 29).
According to the bishops, the presence of police officers at the event raised serious concerns about official oversight and the role of state institutions in the matter.
They questioned why police protection was provided to participants alleged to have engaged in acts of public nudity.
The bishops also called for investigations into what they described as the importation of foreign cultural practices into the country.
The statement commended the Member of Parliament for John Ntim Fordjour for demanding accountability and investigations into the matter.
The Conference noted that although cultural exchange was important, foreign events and practices must respect Ghana’s laws and values.
It further urged authorities to conduct an impartial investigation without political interference and make the findings public.
Among its recommendations, the bishops called for a review of event permitting procedures, stricter public decency guidelines, and a national conversation on the limits of cultural expression in public spaces.
The Conference stressed that providing police protection for acts that allegedly violate the law represented a serious failure of official duty and called for stricter enforcement of the country’s laws.
By: Jacob Aggrey
The Secretary-General of the Commonwealth of Nations, Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey, has expressed concern over recent violent attacks against migrants from Commonwealth countries in some member states.
According to her, she was deeply saddened by reports of the attacks and extended sympathies to the families and loved ones of those affected.
According to her, recent incidents, especially those reported in South Africa, were worrying and could create tensions that may weaken the Commonwealth’s efforts toward resilience-building and shared prosperity among member countries.
Mrs. Botchwey said the Commonwealth was ready to work together with International Organization for Migration to provide technical assistance to member states in managing migration issues.
She explained that the partnership would also help countries build support for labour mobility, which she said was important for expanding economies and improving the lives of citizens across the Commonwealth.
The Commonwealth Secretary-General further called on citizens of all member countries to respect the law and uphold the rights of people living in their communities.
She stressed that civic responsibility was necessary for creating opportunities and improving living standards for the Commonwealth’s estimated 2.7 billion people.
By: Jacob Aggrey
