By Karima Grant | Director
What engages the attention of a three year old? What is their lived experience as young citizens and how can this experience be shared with a larger community in an interactive exhibition?
Sub-Saharan African cities are experiencing explosive growth and some of the most rapid rates of urbanization in the world. Senegal in particular, on the most Western tip of the continent, has seen its urban population almost double in the last few decades, rising from 23% in 1960 to 43% in 2013, and is projected to reach 60% by 2030.1 Yet, armed with this knowledge, major cities such as Dakar have not studied the impact on young children, and have not developed solutions to ensure that they can thrive and meet their full potential in these rapidly urbanizing spaces. To fully grasp which interventions could have the most impact for young children, we first need to tackle one of the major gaps facing rapidly urbanizing African cities: the lack of data.
ImagiNation Afrika, with the support of the Bernard van Leer Foundation, Yux (a tech company specializing in user centered design), and Global Giving supporters like you, have begun the process of gathering this critical data on the lived experiences of young children and their caregivers in Dakar. In addition to focus group interviews with community workers, parents, city officials, nutrition specialists and other key actors, the Walking with Amadou Project uses video to follow 3 year olds Antou, Amadou and Soukeyna across 3 neighborhoods in Dakar as they go about their activities in the company of their caregivers.
Elections are slowing down much of the formal data collection. But by mid-March, we hope to have more information to share. We have been busy crisscrossing various public spaces with Antou and Soukeyna. Below are the links to our videos thus far! Stay tuned to our social media pages including our Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/ImagiNationAfrika to follow the journey!
Once more, thanks for your support. Your Global Giving dollars are helping us to permanently change the landscape for children 0-3 across Senegal.
Links:
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