13 SEPTEMBER 2022 

 

EThekwini Mayor Councillor Mxolisi Kaunda has welcomed the City’s admission to the Global Network of Learning Cities.

 

With this rare membership, eThekwini Municipality is joining a global network of cities that are excelling in rolling out lifelong learning programmes to all. Credit goes to the Municipal Institute of Learning (Mile) under the eThekwini Municipal Academy (EMA) for this achievement. 

 

 Among other things when assessing the application, UNESCO looks at the calibre of staff that are the brains behind the learning programmes. They also pay attention to the curriculum of such programmes in comparison with international peers. 

 

This network is one of the vehicles used by this United Nations agency to meet the mandate of the Sustainable Goal (SDG) 4 (Quality Education). It aims to ensure that cities boast inclusivity, equitability, and quality education. It also calls for cities to promote lifelong learning. SDG  11 demands that cities and human settlements are inclusive, resilient, and sustainable. 

 

Mayor Kaunda said the City, in its quest to do away with uneven development that was at the heart of the policies of the apartheid order, has rolled our educational infrastructure to all parts of eThekwini. Hence libraries and computer labs continue to change the skyline of the City. It is also consistently making available quality capacity-building programmes to all. 

 

“This development is very encouraging, and the work done since 1994 is what motivated us to apply for this membership. It is elating that we have been accepted and we are not going to take our foot off the pedal. Our priority is to ensure that the City remains an international centre of learning excellence. We are of the strong belief that accessing education is going to enable residents to make informed decisions that will help our City and the country in general to move with speed to eradicate the vestiges of apartheid, a policy that was intended to keep people of colour permanently underdeveloped,” said Mayor Kaunda.

 

EMA Head Professor Mpilo Ngubane said the admission to this prestigious network of cities is a clear demonstration that the City’s learning initiatives are convincing and are making a huge difference across the globe.

 

“We are very heartened by this news and are determined to continue to catapult the City on the world map. Knowledge is power and we strongly believe imparting knowledge to all will help eThekwini to live up to its vision of being a ‘liveable and caring city by 2030’. You cannot divorce learning from development if you want to reach the pinnacle of the latter,” said Ngubane.

 

Currently eThekwini is among the top cities in the country that annually makes available internship opportunities for multitudes of young people desperately in need of practical experience. Through these programmes, some youth even end up being employed by the City thus breaking the cycle of poverty in their families. 

 

EThekwini hosts several teams from cities across the world because of its internationally acclaimed learning programmes. These delegations come to learn from the City’s technical expertise and knowledge.

 

ENDS

Issued by the Communications Unit.

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