Participating in the International Education Funders Group (IEFG) community in Edinburgh, with its unforgettable experiences like hiking Arthur’s Seat and dancing Ceilidhs at the National Museum of Scotland, was truly remarkable. The “IEFG Together 2023” conference brought together education funders to discuss the top issues of the day, showcasing the pivotal role philanthropy can play in advancing education equity through systems change. One key takeaway from the event is the vital importance of cross-sector collaboration, with Brazil offering a promising success case for the Global South.

Throughout the conference, the discussion centred around the role and legitimacy of philanthropy in driving systemic change to address pressing educational challenges. IEFG Together, one of the world’s largest conferences exclusive for education philanthropies, brought together more than 70 organisations, fostering an environment of trust and open dialogue. This platform allowed us to share our vulnerabilities, deepen the understanding of our contributions to advancing educational systems, and explore collaborations with other sectors, particularly government. The consensus that emerged after three days of insightful dialogue and spirited exchange is that nurturing trustful relationships among stakeholders and fostering cross-sector collaborations are vital for effective systems change.

Among the numerous examples of trust-based, systems-change collaborations presented at IEFG Together, Co-Impact, a global collaborative for systems change, stood out for its fundamental approach of supporting locally rooted coalitions to achieve impact at scale in partnership with governments. Co-Impact has mobilized over US$ 685 million in collaborations in the Global South to date, with two of their largest partner programs serving as remarkable examples of systems change at scale.

One such program, Teaching at the Right Level (TaRL) Africa developed by Pratham, one of the largest and most successful non-governmental education organizations in India, has been acknowledged as one of the most cost-effective approaches to Improve Global Learning for its contributions across different regions to address the learning poverty challenge, which has worsened considerably due to the pandemic. The World Bank estimated that learning poverty increased from 60% to 70% among children in low and middle-income countries, depriving them of the opportunity to acquire even minimal proficiency in literacy by age 10. While TaRL had been successfully implemented in primary schools in India and Africa prior to the pandemic, it has also played a crucial role as an evidence-based program to address the massive learning losses post-pandemic. 

In Brazil, where schools remained closed for nearly 18 months – one of the longest closures in the world – and fewer than 15% of ninth graders are proficient in Math, key organisations have joined together to close the learning gap caused by Covid. Pratham partnered with the Lemann Foundation, a leading and highly transformational education philanthropy in Brazil, to support Instituto Gesto, a Brazilian nonprofit serving millions of students nationwide, in implementing TaRL as a key post-pandemic remediation strategy in cities serving 1 million students from third to ninth grades.

However, addressing learning gaps alone is not sufficient to tackle post-pandemic effects on education. IEFG Together also extensively discussed redefining what meaningful learning means for teenagers in middle schools, which face increasing dropout rates, sharpening inequalities, and exacerbated mental health issues post-pandemic. Recognizing the urgency of this matter, IEFG members proposed the formation of a working group to facilitate further exchange and collaboration in this space. Youth education, especially middle schools, is often overlooked by governments, and underinvested in by philanthropies. While these efforts are urgent and necessary, one crucial takeaway is that ensuring foundational literacy and numeracy at the primary school level is a critical first step toward success in middle schools.

During one of the “Serendipity dinners”, which were designed to bring together members to discuss topics of common interest, I had the opportunity to engage in a discussion about the Brazil Collaborative Literacy (BCL), a collaborative formed by Co-Impact, Lemann Foundation, and Instituto Natura, a prominent Education philanthropy committed to improving education in Brazil and Latin America, aiming to ensure literacy at the right age in Brazil by the end of the decade. Currently, Brazil ranks as the fourth worst-performing country in the latest Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) assessment. However, there is a promise for change based on the success stories of Ceará and the city of Sobral. Ceará, one of Brazil’s poorest states, with population size and income levels comparable to Bolivia, witnessed a significant jump in literacy rates from 40% of students reading at the right age in 2007 to over 93% in 2019. This world-famous transformation was achieved through a foundational literacy and numeracy (FLN) reform focused on the effective use of assessments, structured pedagogy, fiscal incentives, and support for cities and schools to prioritise literacy outcomes, along with strong political willingness from state and local leadership.

BCL supports former leaders from Sobral and Ceará at Associação Bem Comum (ABC), a nonprofit organization founded by former Sobral Mayor Veveu Arruda, to expand this successful model to 17 other states in partnership with national, state, and local governments. Over the next four years, BCL aims to reach 11 million students, serving more than 70% of Brazil’s public enrollment of 1st and 2nd graders. In November, IEFG will organize an exclusive immersion program with 30 members visiting the Lemann Center of Sobral, a global centre for equity in education, conceived by the Lemann Foundation and inspired by the city of Sobral, to further learn from this successful case and explore its relevance to other countries and regions in the Global South.

In all, IEFG Together provided a unique opportunity for funders to network, engage in dialogue, stay up-to-date with the latest evidence, and explore synergies for collaborative solutions with other members. To effectively contribute to the most pressing educational challenges of our time, philanthropy must actively engage in systems change, which can only be achieved through collaboration.

Guilherme Barros, Collaborative Philanthropy Manager at Lemann Foundation, Member of IEFG Steering Committee. LinkedIn