Mission Statement

The Institute of Development and Education for Africa (IDEA), Inc. a non-profit public benefit corporation is no longer registered under Section 501 (c)(3) of the Internal revenue Code and has plans to change its status to a foundation. It is dedicated to the promotion and enhancement of development and education in Africa. IDEA will study the level of African countries’ educational development; will create venue for African scholars to contribute theoretical and empirical studies on development and education in various inter-related and interdependent areas; will serve as conduit between Africa and North America, particularly the United States, in the promotion of technical assistance to the continent and providing scholarship for outstanding and eligible African students; will organize conferences and symposia on development and education in the United States and in Africa. In addition to studying and reporting on the conditions of education in Africa, IDEA will design and develop curricula for schools and higher institutions of learning, and also furnish an educational forum via its quarterly periodical, Africana Forum. The periodical will feature pertinent, selective, and up-to-date issues on development and education.

The Goals of IDEA:

• Promote ideas of development and education for the Continent of Africa across the board, and systematically study the prerequisites and preconditions for meaningful agendas on development education that are readily available for implementation.

• Campaign against illiteracy and backwardness, both in the cultural milieu and economic realm, so as to accelerate the development march of African countries in the 21^st century.

• Encourage African nations to prioritize educational development in an effort to enhance Human Development Index (HDI) and Physical Quality of Life Index (PQLI).

• Encourage African nations to facilitate good governance and the culture of democracy, and inevitably permit the development of market forces with a human face.

• Appeal to the relatively developed nations or potential donors to accelerate their investment in Africa in an effort to promote genuine economic development; to incorporate in their economic policies the indiscriminate Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in Africa.

• Diagnose the real problems encountered by African countries in their inability to realize a development and education agenda that can overhaul their respective national economies. Problems must be defined clearly as in the following: a) falling commodity prices; b) declining terms of trade; c) debt and debt servicing burden; d) high interest rates; e) volatile exchange rate; and f) protectionism against Africa’s exports.

• Formulate development and educational policies and strategies [including designing curriculum for schools and higher institutions of learning as well as political economy analysis on the state of development] for Africa in general and specific countries in particular, based on the feedback and RD collected and studied empirically.

• Solicit funds and services from foundations, organizations, governments, and philanthropists for fulfilling the goals of IDEA.

• On top of the above important goals, IDEA will provide services to African and Africanist scholars by furnishing contractual agreements pertaining to development strategies, educational curricula, writing theses and dissertations, and research as well as online tutorial for interested individuals.