ALiVE Summit 2025: Advancing Equitable and Inclusive Education

The Assessing Life Skills and Values in East Africa (ALiVE) Summit 2025 brought together leading education stakeholders in Isiolo to drive home a crucial message—education must create tangible change for learners and communities. Among the key figures at the summit was the Commission Secretary and CEO of the National Gender and Equality Commission, Dr. Purity Ngina, who underscored the transformative power of Values-Based Education in tackling national challenges such as gender-based violence (GBV), political intolerance, and low learning outcomes.

Since the launch of Kenya’s Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC) in 2017, the focus has shifted towards equipping students with critical life skills such as problem-solving, critical thinking, learning to learn, citizenship, collaboration, communication, selfefficacy, and digital literacy. However, the ALiVE Summit 2025 sought to ensure that these strategies translate into real impact beyond policy frameworks.

“Education should not only equip children with knowledge but also empower them to navigate and address societal challenges,” Dr. Ngina stated. “We must integrate values such as respect, empathy, and responsibility into our learning systems to foster a more inclusive and resilient society.” With a focus on aligning national education policies with local classroom realities, the summit tackled a crucial question: How can systemic change be felt by learners on the ground?

Speakers and stakeholders emphasized that transformation must happen where learning takes place—inside classrooms, with teachers, and within communities.

The ALiVE Evolution: From Frameworks to Implementation Since its inception in 2020, the ALiVE initiative has undergone three distinct phases:

Phase 1: Defined life skills and values, establishing key collaborative partnerships.

Phase 2: Integrated these skills into national curricula and strengthened teacher training programs.

Phase 3: Currently underway, focuses on scaling up implementation to impact millions of children across Africa.

This year’s summit highlighted the successes and challenges in embedding life skills within education systems, emphasizing that sustained investment in teacher training, community involvement, and policy enforcement is key to making a lasting difference.

The discussions at ALiVE Summit 2025 reinforced the urgent need for a multisectoral approach to education reform. Stakeholders committed to strengthening partnerships between government, civil society, educators, and development partners to bridge the gap between policy formulation and classroom implementation.

With its emphasis on transforming education into a tool for empowerment, the summit set the stage for continued progress in ensuring that every child in Kenya—and across Africa—receives an education that not only informs but also transforms lives.

NGEC Commission Secretary/CEO, Dr. Purity Ngina, MBS, speaking at the ALiVE Summit 2025