Afrobarometer trains African researchers in data survey at Pretoria

In partnership with Future Africa at the University of Pretoria, Afrobarometer has launched its latest English-language summer school aimed at equipping African scholars with solid skills to analyse citizens’ socio-economic and political concerns.

The free training program, running in November 2022 in Pretoria, provides a rare opportunity for African researchers in government and non-governmental organisations, policy actors,and postgraduate students to hone their skills in data analysis and use.

They will also receive instruction in theories and practices of public opinion survey research on democracy, governance, and related topics.

Their work will draw on more than two decades of survey data collected by Afrobarometer across the African continent.

The three-week course includes 31 participants from 13 countries chosen from among 550applications and more than half, which forms 58 percent are women.

“Afrobarometer is pleased to welcome a cohort of exceptional young talents,” Capacity building manager for Afrobarometer, Dominique Dryding said.

“We are thrilled to provide hands-on training to empower the next generation of African scholars and help address the continent’s needs for highly skilled African data researchers. In a world increasingly dependent on credible data, these skills are needed more than ever.”

The Pretoria edition continues Afrobarometer’s long summer-school tradition and follows itssuccessful French-language summer school at Université Cheikh Anta Diop in Dakar, Senegal,in August.

“I am extremely excited to attend this year’s Afrobarometer summer school hosted in Pretoria. My hope for Angola, Eswatini, Ghana, Kenya, Lesotho, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Tunisia, and Zimbabwe is that the training will help strengthen my ability to analyse survey data across topics such as conflict, migration, and elections whilst guiding me on the process of writing an Afrobarometer publication,” Senior researcher for Good Governance Africa, Monique Bennett said.

Afrobarometer provides an important platform for early-career African academics like myself and so, am honoured to be part of the training, and potentially reach publication.” He added.

Source : Eric Nii Sackey