by Adayé Sosthène Yvan N'guettia | 2 Nov 2020 | Africa, African Leadership Academy, Contest winners, Educators' Catalog, Government, Student Posts, Youth Voices
For years, Ivory Coast has been split politically and at times torn by outbursts of violence. Youth are working for peace in the West African nation. Voters at a polling station during the first round of Côte d’Ivoire’s presidential election in Abidjan, 31...
Ivory Coast has a complex political story, but Adayé Sosthène Yvan N’guettia keeps it simple in his story about youth working for peace in the West African nation. Many young people are upset over the state of the world that they will inherit, but N’guettia shows initiative by interviewing three activists toiling for change in Côte d’Ivoire. He listens and offers telling quotes, using a deft hand to drive home his message. Growing up is about discovering the world, and some students — N’guettia among them — see the challenge as a learning adventure. Ask your class to read N’guettia’s story, interview three activists and, using the activists’ words, summarize what they’ve learned.
by Tendayi Chirawu | 23 Oct 2020 | Africa, African Leadership Academy, Politics, Youth Voices
Two savvy Africans urge frustrated youth activists to drive political change by holding officials to their word and harnessing innovative ideas and words. Are you a young person yearning for change and a better world? Do you feel that global leaders are not listening...
by Tendayi Chirawu | 21 Sep 2020 | African Leadership Academy, Students in the Spotlight
Marouane El Bahraoui worked months on an article on Libya. The Moroccan’s efforts won him a chat with the U.S. envoy — and a Decoder award. Marouane El Bahraoui, a Moroccan student at the African Leadership Academy, wins September’s Decoder in the...
by Tendayi Chirawu | 16 Sep 2020 | Africa, African Leadership Academy, Youth Voices
Africa is often misrepresented in the media as a poverty-stricken safari-land. Who benefits from such stereotypes? How can we reshape the image? Outsiders and Africans themselves often resort to stereotypes to represent the continent — wild animals, jungles and...
by Marouane El Bahraoui | 12 Aug 2020 | Africa, African Leadership Academy, Educators' Catalog, Student Posts, Youth Voices
Once ruled with an iron fist by a dictator, oil-rich Libya is now ravaged by war. With foreign powers meddling, a political solution is badly needed. A sniper fires towards Islamic State militant positions in Sirte, Libya, 21 September 2016. (AP Photo/Manu Brabo)...
The author, Marouane El Bahraoui, is a Student Ambassador at the African Leadership Academy, a News Decoder partner school. He spent seven months researching Libya, working closely with News Decoder editors to sharpen his focus and add authority to his reporting. What started as an incipient interest in the North African country matured into a nuanced view of a highly complex geopolitical situation. El Bahraoui’s story caught the admiring eye of the U.S. ambassador to Libya, who contacted the young author to chat about Libya and Morocco, El Bahraoui’s home country. “Who thought that a U.S. ambassador would read my article?” El Bahraoui said. This story shows the kind of potent reporting that a determined and curious student in our network can produce for a global audience.
by Nelson Graves | 25 Jun 2020 | Africa, African Leadership Academy, Human Rights
Black Lives Matter protests in the U.S. can spur change around the world. Youth can play a key role in the fight for equality, says a young African educator. Young people around the world can learn from the Black Lives Matter movement in the United States to spur...
by News Decoder | 12 Jun 2020 | African Leadership Academy, Herlufsholm, Human Rights, Youth Voices
As protests for racial justice sweep across the U.S., young people are demanding an end to persistent inequities around the world. A Black Lives Matter protest in London, 7 June 2020 (photo by Charlotte Crang) We asked young people in News Decoder’s network to...
by Omobolaji Olalere | 23 Apr 2020 | Africa, African Leadership Academy, Youth Voices
How should I feel towards a father who hurts me and Mommy? Mommy says daddies are nice. But if that’s the case, why does my daddy abuse me? Protesters against gender-based violence in Cape Town, South Africa, 5 September 2019 (EPA-EFE/NIC BOTHMA) The following...
by Nelson Graves | 31 Dec 2019 | African Leadership Academy, Indiana University, Miss Porter's School, News Decoder Updates
We published more stories in 2019 and were read in nearly 200 countries and territories. Readers flocked to articles about Africa, written by students. Biafran army volunteers train with rifle-sized sticks, Owerri, Biafra, 1 August 1968. (AP Photo/Kurt Strumpf)...
by Savannah Jenkins | 17 Dec 2019 | African Leadership Academy, Students in the Spotlight
African Leadership Academy wins News-Decoder’s “Decoder in the Spotlight” award for its students’ exemplary contributions to our global community. A recorded poem about violence and evil. A photo essay celebrating African goddesses and the...
