Population Council Research that makes a difference

A meeting of the girls’ committee, one of the components of the Adolescent Girls’ Learning Network in Kenya. Photo: Karen Austrian/Population Council

In partnership with the Binti Pamoja Center, the Population Council is hosting the Kenya Adolescent Girls' Learning Network (also called the "Brain Trust"). The goal of this project is to bring together adolescent girls' program providers and experts to share learning, develop program guidelines, and strengthen programming for adolescent girls in Kenya’s urban areas.

The learning network consists of three main components:

1. Learning conversations: The core group of learning network members will meet monthly to discuss the different areas relevant to programming for adolescent girls. Each month's discussion will focus on a different topic (e.g., conducting needs assessments, working with parents/guardians, developing leadership among adolescent girls, providing clinical services, and developing appropriate program topics and activities). The content of each discussion will be synthesized into a summary paper, and the overall content will be compiled into a set of tools and guidelines for use in adolescent girls' programming.
2. Technical assistance: Programs participating in the learning network have each committed to implementing at least one component from the learning conversations. Technical assistance is available in the forms of seed grants to provide initial funding for these activities, as well as sharing of knowledge and expertise among the participating members.
3. Adolescent girls' committee: Along with the learning conversations, a group of adolescent girls from the participating programs will meet monthly to discuss the topics of learning conversations, as well as plan exchange activities between the various girls' programs. Representatives from the committee also will attend the monthly learning conversations. in addition, the network will coordinate mentoring opportunities—both professional and youth-to-youth—for the adolescent girls involved.