The United Nations General Assembly proclaimed 24th of January as International Day of Education, recognizing the vital role of education in strengthening the health care system and economy. Although education is a basic human right, for many people it remains a hope, not a reality.
According to UNESCO, 272 million children and youth are out of school, and 763 million adults are illiterate across the globe.
TAIRIS’s role in shaping global education initiatives
TAIRIS mainly utilizes a clear framework to turn global education initiatives into lasting impact.
See: TAIRIS initially recognizes the challenges that foster education initiatives that help in bringing researchers, innovators, and practitioners to understand and design solutions that bring lasting impact.
Say: TAIRIS believes in knowledge flows and ensures that they flow openly between Europe and Africa through knowledge Bridges, linking international, public, private, academic, and local actors.
Act: TAIRIS focuses on transforming local problems into sustainable solutions by undertaking projects that include training, mentorship, and co-production. From nurses using telehealth tools to students mastering innovation skills, we strengthen local healthcare capacity at every level for lasting impact.
Build: TAIRIS prepares a new generation of global innovators through initiatives like the Frugal Innovation Research Event (FIRE), who understand designing ethical, frugal, and systemic solutions in low-resource settings. TAIRIS ensures medical innovations are context-fit, scalable, and co-created by integrating African partners’ insights.
We believe in: Innovation grows where education grows.
Why become part of TAIRIS?
To become part of global education initiatives and co-create lasting, impactful solutions, TAIRIS is a suitable place for you.
- At TAIRIS, the focus is on the mission of bridging the gap between innovation and impact by tailoring healthcare solutions to local communities.
- Joining TAIRIS means becoming part of a global network of researchers and innovators who believe in transforming healthcare through an evidence- based approach driven by sustainability.
- TAIRIS ensures access to innovative health care between high and low-resource settings through collaboration and education, and thus supports global health equity.
- Our FIRE (Frugal Innovation Research Event) initiative helps in co-creating solutions for local challenges in areas like health and energy, through collaboration between scientists, students, and entrepreneurs, and hands-on workshops that create real impact in the communities.
The out-of-school population has declined substantially over the past decades, globally from 390 million in 2000 to 272 million in 2023. However, since 2015, the reduction has slowed sharply. While adult literacy rates have improved over time, population growth in lower-literacy regions has led to a rise in the absolute number of illiterate adults.
These figures reflect different generations affected by educational inequality. Those out of school are primarily children and adolescents aged 6 to 18, while illiteracy mainly affects individuals aged 15 and older. Although many illiterate adults belong to older generations, younger adults remain impacted, particularly in regions where education is limited or disrupted.
UNESCO considers reading, writing, and numeracy as the core measures of literacy. In the digital age, digital literacy, media literacy, and numeracy are also considered along with traditional reading and writing. Although billions have access to schooling, many school children are far from a quality basic education. Hence, schooling does not guarantee real learning. Additionally, social, economic, and political factors also influence the access and quality of education.
These gaps in educational quality and access help explain the broader global disparities. Africa has enormous human potential. However, systemic barriers like shortages of trained medical professionals, limited access to medical devices, health infrastructure gaps, educational inequities, and innovations that fail because they were not tailored to local communities remain.
On the other hand, Europe has mature institutions, but needs new perspectives, youthful energy, and global collaboration. Both continents face gaps in specialized fields, particularly healthcare, technology, and innovation, where the future of societal well-being will be determined.
These challenges highlight the role of education as a driver of innovation. Addressing global disparities in education is a key reason for collaboration between Europe and Africa.
To find out more, here is the link to the TAIRIS Website:
Author: Christopher Adlung & Aletta v. Ilsemann
