Learning Minds

2022 Klaus J. Jacobs Best Practice Prizes – Luminos Fund

The Luminos Fund’s catch-up education program in sub-saharan Africa recognized among top 10 finalists for CHF 600,000 ($614,000) Klaus J. Jacobs Best Practice Prizes 2022

The Luminos Fund, headquartered in the United States, recognized for catch-up education programs for out-of-school children in sub-Saharan Africa
Three Best Practice Prize recipients will be awarded CHF 200,000 each and announced on 30 September at a ceremony taking place in Zurich
All 10 finalists will convene for a co-creation event on 1 October, and are also eligible for follow-on funding of up to CHF 150,000

Zurich, June 29, 2022: The Luminos Fund has been named a top 10 finalist for the Klaus J. Jacobs Best Practice Prizes 2022, a set of three awards each worth CHF 200,000 ($208,000) that honor outstanding achievement and practice in advancing quality education.

Headquartered in the United States, Luminos Fund runs education programs for out-of-school children in Sub-Saharan Africa and the Middle East.

The three recipients of this year’s Best Practice Prizes will be announced at a ceremony in Zurich on 30 September 2022. For the first time, the 10 finalists will convene for a co-creation event, taking place on 1 October 2022. They will exchange knowledge and ideas on advancing learning, and will have the opportunity to partner with other shortlisted applicants to develop proposals for new projects. Two concepts will receive follow-on funding of up to CHF 150,000 ($156,000) each.

Awarded every other year, the Klaus J. Jacobs Best Practice Prizes recognize non-profits, businesses, and social ventures that are bringing forth innovative solutions to some of education’s biggest challenges.

Fabio Segura and Simon Sommer, co-CEOs of the Jacobs Foundation, said:

“We want to warmly congratulate the Luminos Fund on becoming a top 10 finalist for the Klaus J. Jacobs Best Practice Prizes 2022. These prizes were created to showcase the ground-breaking work that businesses, social ventures, and non-profits all around the world are doing to ensure children have access to quality education. There is not a moment to lose. By bringing to light the evidence of what works we can use it to implement solutions that can be tailored to learners’ diverse individual needs.

“In the age of COVID, it is also important to share ideas and evidence of what works on the ground to help shift policy, particularly as education systems adapt to a new and unfamiliar terrain. That is why we are launching this new follow-on collaboration funding of up to CHF 150,000. We look forward to bringing together all 10 Best Practice Prize finalists for our co-creation event, and we can’t wait to see what inspiring concepts they come up with together.”

Caitlin Baron, CEO of the Luminos Fund, said:

“We are honored to be among the top 10 finalists for the Best Practice Prizes awarded by the Jacobs Foundation. Like Jacobs Foundation, Luminos believes all children should be able to reach their potential–regardless of their background or income. The Foundation’s dedication to helping children reach their full potential and fulfill their aspirations has been inspirational and catalytic in the sector, and we look forward to learning from other finalists.
 
“We hope to use this unique platform to share our learnings, and help even more out-of-school children in Sub-Saharan Africa and around the world experience fun, joyful learning.”

The Luminos Fund

The Luminos Fund provides education programs for out-of-school children aged 8-14 in Sub-Saharan Africa and the Middle East, helping them to catch up on three years of learning in just one school year, and reintegrate into local government schools. Many live in very challenging circumstances, and are the first in their family to receive an education. Each year, over 90% of Luminos students advance to mainstream schools, and at least 75% remain in formal education after 12 months.

With a focus on learning-through-play and assessment-led pedagogy, Luminos strives to make learning a joyful experience, to equip students with a positive outlook on education. The program is delivered through community-based organisation partners whose capabilities Luminos helps build, support, and oversee. Classrooms are taught by high-potential local young adults who Luminos trains to teach, thereby fuelling local education systems with much-needed trained resources.

To date, Luminos has supported more than 152,000 children across Ethiopia, Ghana, Liberia, The Gambia, and Lebanon, and plans to reach an additional 200,000 students by 2024. They work with governments, advising on curriculum development, strategies, and national education policy. This enables Luminos to drive forward lasting, systemic change and to ensure that out-of-school children remain a priority for national education planning.

If the Luminos Fund is named a recipient of one of the 2022 Klaus J. Jacobs Best Practice Prizes, they plan to invest the winning funds in supporting new programs in Ghana and expanding their operations in The Gambia. They will also launch a multimedia toolkit to reach even more out-of-school children in Sub-Saharan Africa and beyond.