Last month, Belgium announced that it would grant VVOB with close to 49 million euros for 2022-2026, 10 per cent more compared to the previous 5-year cycle. “We want to thank minister Meryame Kitir for her acknowledgement of our achievements and for deepening Belgium’s commitment to teachers and school leaders worldwide through VVOB”, says VVOB’s General Director Sven Rooms.
Top tier
VVOB’s relationship with the Belgian Directorate General for Development Cooperation and Humanitarian Aid – or DGD for short – is a strong one. For decades, the Belgian government has been one of VVOB’s main financial partners. Even today, against a background of ever more donors recognising VVOB and a growing income, Belgium remains a top-tier donor for VVOB.
General Director Rooms: “The 10 per cent grant increase not only showcases Belgium’s – and minister Kitir’s – genuine commitment to quality education. It also validates that VVOB is an important partner of Belgium to achieving SDG 4.”
“Our approach has been recognised as effective: by working on the professional development of teachers and school leaders in close partnership with governments and other key stakeholders, we achieve real and lasting change. With 55 million dollars, we can further intensify our work with governments and educators across three continents for quality education for all.”
Record numbers
Speaking about numbers only, this grant is VVOB’s largest ever, with approximately 49 million euros or 55 million US dollars. This is in and of itself a milestone for the organisation, which has proven resilient and innovative these past two COVID-ridden years, ensuring continued support to teachers and school leaders.
“Indeed, 2020 and 2021 threw a few curveballs at us, but we’ve managed to complete the previous 5-year DGD cycle in such a way that – apparently – warranted a 10 per cent increase”, the General Director says. “This high-level appreciation helps make our ambitions a reality.”
VVOB is soon to launch its Learning Unlimited. strategy, which sets out its vision, ambitions and approach to achieving SDG 4 by the 2030 deadline in more detail.
9 partner countries, 9 ambitions
While the DGD grant is one of many that enables VVOB to put its vision and mission into practice, its size underlines the significance of the organisation’s work within the international education community:
- early grade maths in primary schools in Cambodia
- agriculture and entrepreneurship in secondary technical schools in Ecuador
- effective school leadership in lower secondary schools in Kenya
- effective and distributed school leadership in primary schools in Rwanda
- early grade reading instruction in early childhood and primary schools in South Africa
- agriculture and entrepreneurship education in secondary (technical) schools in Uganda
- language development and learning readiness in early childhood schools in Vietnam
- literacy and numeracy skills in primary schools in Zambia
- strengthening partnerships for education and training and inspiring teacher trainers in Belgium
The 2022-2026 project cycle will tackle key challenges for learning outcomes, putting gender-related challenges and solutions at the forefront of all efforts.
“We are happy and proud that this focus rings true for the Belgian development cooperation as well”, Sven Rooms summarises. “In that sense, I am confident that I speak for all 250 colleagues when I say thank you to minister Kitir and her staff for putting education at the top of Belgium’s agenda for international cooperation.”
