Providing Greater Access: Capturing the 2014 African Evaluation Association (AfrEA) Conference
The 2014 African Evaluation Association (AfrEA) Conference was held in Yaoundé, Cameroon from March 3–7. The conference not only brought together evaluators from across Africa but also from around the world. The first two days of the conference were dedicated to interactive workshops while the latter three days showcased presentations on a variety of topics.
In an effort to increase the reach of the conference, conference organizers decided to record and webcast select sessions and workshops online so that the presentations could be accessed around the world. The webcasting team live-streamed and recorded selected workshops as well as one session from most of the funded strands throughout the conference. The live-streaming allowed individuals from around the world to watch sessions in real-time from their computer. In addition to live-streaming and recorded sessions, the team also interviewed several presenters and participants about their role and experiences at AfrEA. Overall, workshop and session presenters were excited to be able to extend their message to the global online community.
The majority of online participants resided in either Canada (27.4%) or the United States (16.3%). Although the majority of online participants were from North America, analytics show that the live-stream was accessed at least once from each of the major world regions listed below, with the second-highest concentration coming from Sub-Saharan Africa (27.9%). In addition to live-streaming sessions, a handful of presentations were also recorded so that they could be viewed by online audiences at a later date. Links to these sessions can be found at the end of this post.
Recorded interviews with conference presenters and participants will provide a small window into the experience of the 2014 AfrEA conference. The interviewees provided a glimpse into the breadth of topics discussed at AfrEA and their current thinking about some of the key takeaway issues and messages from the conference. Among the topics the interviewees found most important at this year’s conference were:
- the growing institutionalization and activity-level of Voluntary Organizations for Professional Evaluation (VOPEs) in Africa,
- the importance of country-led versus donor-driven evaluation models, and
- the ever-growing need for high-quality capacity building initiatives in Africa.
Additionally, the team was able to capture the exceptional cultural presentation put on by the conference organizers. As AfrEA is held in a different country each time, the cultural component is a great educational experience for all attendees. This year’s presentation featured an amazing display of dancing, live music, physical talents, and even a stand-up comedy act.
Recordings
Conference Sessions
- Opening Ceremony Clips
- Evaluation in Poverty Alleviation
- Made in Africa – African Rooted Evaluation
- Gender Responsiveness: Part 1, Part 2
- Francophone Perspectives - Développement à partir de l'évaluation (French)
- VOPE toolkit workshop clips (French)
- African Strategies for Health – Application of M&E Systems
- Environmental & Climate Change – Ways Forward for Environmental Evaluation in Africa
- Methodological Innovation – Evaluating Training and Education
- Agriculture and Food Security – Challenges in Data Availability
- Donor and Market-Related Strand: What is emerging and working: Part 1, Part 2
Interviews
- Oumoul Khayri
- Jim Rugh
- Interviews with presenters from Francophone Perspectives - Développement à partir de l'évaluation (French)
- Interviews with VOPE toolkit workshop participants: Part 1, Part 2,Part 3