ACSI Africa leaders met in Nairobi from the 6^th to the 10^th January 2024 to discuss the exciting prospects for Christian education across Africa. It was a particularly meaningful time, as it was the first in-person meeting to be chaired by ACSI Africa Director, Dr Sosthene Maletoungou, who was officially called to the position at the Africa Roundtable conference in Kigali last year in August.

It was also a noteworthy occasion for another reason, as the Kenya ACSI office was elevated to the position of ACSI licenced office, after many years of faithfully serving Christian schools in that country. They will work closely with their sister office in Uganda, to uplift schools in East Africa. The Kenya team did an excellent job of hosting us during the summit and we were most grateful for their kindness.

The decentralisation of ACSI, from an America-based organisation to one which is truly representative of its global nature, brings with it exciting opportunities for growth and innovation. These were discussed during the summit and timelines established for their implementation. I shall give more details of these as they arise, as the decisions taken in Nairobi will still be discussed with the ACSI Global committee in Dallas this week before being ratified and put into action.

The summit was another reminder of the privilege our schools have of being part of a truly global organisation which serves Christian schools in a multitude of ways. We hope that schools in South – and Southern – Africa will embrace some of the opportunities to connect with schools across the globe during the coming year, in particular through the student learning and leadership activities.     

In the group image above starting from the left we have Mr Herbert Sambu (Kenya), Mr Neil Malherbe (South Africa), Mrs Grace Turyakira (Uganda), Ps Segun Oludipe (Nigeria), Mrs Lilly Oyare (Kenya), Mr Brian Bliss (Paths to School Improvement), Dr Sosthene Maletoungou (Director: ACSI Africa), Mr Romaric Zongo (Burkina Faso), Dr Gavin Brettenny (Vice President: ACSI Global), Mr Jean-Christophe Huet (Francophone Africa) and Mr Sylvain Momo (Francophone Africa)